The Trial
by Myem04
Summary: Kakashi struggles with a strange new primal chakra that is unleashed around a certain pink-haired teammate. Can he get control before it is too late? Rated M for adult situations (lemon) and language
1. Chapter 1

Just a quick note before the story begins. I do not own the characters or the manga they originate from. This story will deviate from canon, so please bear that in mind while reading. There is a Mature rating on this story for a reason. I shall do my best not to disappoint.

Chapter One

 _'Oh Gods above, now I have her scent on me!'_ The exasperated shinobiglanced up at the very kunoichi causing his distress only to discover her shapely rear only inches above his face. Her quick ascent up the side of the building was fueled by her precise chakra control focused to her hands and feet. Half way up the wall she seemed to notice he wasn't with her. Glancing down over her shoulder, she located her teammate and hissed at him to hurry. The shinobi shook the scent and the view from his muddled mind and began to scale the sharp bricks. _'Surely'_ the ninja mused to himself, _'being in this condition for so long is going to have lasting effects. Maybe, I could ask my medic.'_ He chuckled softly at the irony of that idea as he glanced up at said medic making her way onto the roof above him. He briefly mourned the loss of that wonderful view but the resulting twitch in his already painful trouble area turned his focus on getting to the top of this building. The sooner they completed this mission the better. Weeks of tracking an enemy ninja carrying one very incriminating scroll had finally paid off. Proof of which Hidden Villages had agreed to the invaders demands for surrender. The Hidden Leaf couldn't defend against such a large army without knowing who was loyal and who had turned against their fellow shinobi. All they had to do now was get away with the scroll and return safely to the walls of their village. Unfortunately, the courier had friends. Getting away had become more of a challenge. The goal was to slither out of town without being discovered. Both shinobi were dressed in skin tight black uniforms with hood and mask attached. No identifying markers visible. Not knowing who was behind the theft of the scroll would spread distrust among the traitorous villages. Quietly he pulled himself up over the edge onto the roof, his mismatched eyes met the green ones of his partner and he nodded to indicate it was clear for them to continue. Under the darkness of the moonless night the two shinobi raced along the rooftops in the opposite direction of their pursuers. When the rooftops ran out, the pair slowed their pace keeping to the shadows around bushes and trees until they reached the thicker line of the forest's edge. Traveling in the familiar protection of the thick branches, the kunoichi took the lead with her male counterpart hanging behind to scan for enemy ninja that might have pursued them. For hours they traveled this way. Silence remained throughout the many direction changes and counter pursuit tactics the two used to discourage any trackers. Both breathed a sigh of relief as they crossed over the border of home. After taking note of several discrete markers carved into the trunks of the surrounding trees, the male put his hand on the kunoichi's shoulder.

"Sakura, there is an ANBU bolt hole near here. Let's stop and rest." She nodded her consent and moved into the rear letting him take the lead. He leapt down from the branches to move along the edge of a nearby river. They followed the fast pace water until it cascaded over a rock formation in a brilliant waterfall. The two made their way gingerly along the rocks behind the roar of the falls to a cave entrance hidden there. The darkness of the rock tunnel leading back from the water forced the shinobi to pull up the leather eyepatch covering one of his eyes. Activating his Sharingan as he reached back for the woman's hand, the man lead to two down the black tunnel until the passaged opened up to a small room carved into the rock. Various supplies were stacked up against one of the walls. He dropped the hand he was holding to collect the stack of wood. Squatting next to the small fire pit, he quickly arranged the wood and using a jutsu started a small fire. The weak light from the fire gave both shinobi a good look at their accommodations. A few crates with food and water and one single cot were all that resided in the small space.

"Oh wow! I can't believe that this mission went so easily." Sakura exclaimed as she pulled the hood free from her pale pink locks. "I just knew we would have to fight it out of there." After running her hands through her hair and giving it a flick over her shoulders, she riffled through the crates until she found a couple of water bottles and protein bars. Sakura handed half to her companion before tossing herself down on the cot to consume her prize.

 _'Easy?'_ Hatake Kakashi leaned against the nearest wall and slid down until he was seated on the floor. _'Easy when we were hiding in that crate in the attic of the inn peeking through the spy hole into the room below? Smooshed into a compromising position for HOURS! Easy when I had to watch her through that same peep hole while she, dressed as a local prostitute, whispered into that thug's ear and ran her hands all over him! This has been the worst mission in a long time!_ ' The memory of his rage at seeing her in another man's arms, ANY other man, caused his hands to clench tightly, crushing the bottle and food he had been holding. He knew that in that moment if she had waited one second longer to put the guy out with her medical jutsu, he would have gone completely homicidal. Screw the mission and screw duty. It had almost become another "incident" and that just couldn't happen. The last time the Hokage almost took Sakura away from him and that was worse than having her so close. The primal force that had taken over him before was building in his chest once again. The wild force of chakra began to build in his body and Kakashi knew he had to get out of the enclosed space fast. "I'm going to set some traps," he growled out. His tone caused the pink-haired kunoichi to turn her attention away from the protein bar she was happily devouring and look at him.

"Kakashi, are you ok?" He stopped for a moment, looking over his shoulder. He said nothing but gave her a short nod of his head. "Well, if you think it will be ok, I'm going to bath in the river." She made an exaggerated motion of sniffing her armpit and wrinkled her nose. "I sure do need it."

"Stay close." With that quick order, he exited the cave and disappeared into shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sakura made her way from the cave behind the falls, stepping lightly along the edge of the water. The waterfall had carved a perfect swimming hole out of the landscape. After taking a moment to scan the nearby vicinity for chakra signatures, she decided it was safe to strip her clothes. The black spandex outfit had to be peeled off like sheading a second skin. Pulling first her left arm and then her right from the suit, Sakura pause to glance around one more time before pulling it down past her wrapped breasts and onto her small waist. Slowly she began to unwrap the bindings all while keeping a wary eye out for any unwanted presences. Once freed from their restraints, her bosom swelled forward with rose colored nipples hardening in the crisp breeze. Sakura hooked her thumbs into the suit around her waist and wiggled the material and her underwear down her long legs.

Naked and chilled, she dipped her toes in the water to test the temperature. Satisfied, she waded out into the pool up to her waist before dunking her whole self under the water. She stayed under until the need to breathe forced her above the surface. Slinging her wet hair over her head onto her back, Sakura took a large deep inhale that sounded more like a gasp. She began to scrub her body quickly with her hands since she had no cloth with her to use. Suddenly, the air around the pool seemed to fill with an electricity that prickled her skin. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Sakura scanned the surrounding trees and listened to the sounds of the forest. No birds or insects made a peep. The eerie silence made the hairs on the back of her neck raise. Alert and wary, she began to exit the pool - being cautious not to splash the waters with any undo haste. With a quick motion, she picked up her discarded clothes and turned to place her back towards the stone face of the falls.

A decision had to be made. Sakura flicked her viridian eyes toward the dark opening of the cave before traveling down to her own body. She could retreat to safety there, but she would be restricted to only one way in or out. It could mean being trapped if there was something or someone out there. Another option being to risk the movement and noise of putting on at least her panties and take to the trees to run, hopefully running into Kakashi. Of course, if nothing was out there, he would have dirt on her for years! Oh no, she was not going to go into her local bar one day to discover all her closest friends making Kakashi tell the one about Sakura running through the trees naked again. _'To the cave it is'_ She decided.

Easing up the stone path, Sakura kept her glaze out over the pool and the surrounding forest. The electricity in the air seemed to thicken into a slight fog that reached out to touch everything in the area. It inched in her direction cautiously, almost giving it a feel of sentience. She kept her pace slow and steady toward the entrance, however, she was losing ground to this strange electric fog. It brushed up against her skin causing it to pucker with goosebumps. She froze for a moment, _'It's like some kind of chakra but it is…wild?'_ The tingling on her skin was increasing. It was not painful – it was intense and growing more so by the second. Sakura hurried into the cave, no longer caring about the noise she made. She looked back through the curtain of the waterfall. It was hard to be certain because of the distortion of the water, but she was sure the fog was condensing into a blueish gray form in the center of the pool.

Sakura scrabbled into the carved stone room, circled around the small fire pit and came to rest with her back against the farthest wall. She wrestled with the black suit she was carrying until she rescued her underwear. She quickly put them on, never taking her eyes from the entrance tunnel to her haven. Glancing to her left, she noticed her bag where it rested on the foot of the cot. Sakura reached for the bag and snatched out a tank top. In the second her eyes were covered while pulling on the shirt, the fog had begun to seep into the room. It encircled the space like a thick grey blanket suspended in midair. The sensation that the strange, static-charged mist created on her skin began to pulse. Sakura could only liken it to the feeling of being stroked and shocked at the same time. Crouching down into a defensive posture, she grabbed a kunai and built chakra to her hands – ready to defend herself.

She could hear no sound over the panting of her own rapid breath. The faint light from the fire was dulled further by the misty fog's rapidly increasing density. Sakura faced with sensory deprivation from the chakra cloud closed her eyes to focus all her attention to her hearing. Calming her body's reaction to adrenalin, she managed to slow her breathing and heartrate. Then, she waited. A scrap against the rock at the opening of the tunnel sounded loud in her hypersensitive ears. Slowly, Sakura opened her eyes to face whatever threat was coming down the tunnel. The fog seemed to react to this by swirling with an increased intensity, forming a funnel over the top of the meager fire and with a quick downward motion, doused the flames. Sakura was immediately plunged into darkness. Her eyes began to dart back and forth in a vain attempt to spy the danger. Electric pulses along her body seemed to increase the stroking all over her body, now feeling like multiple hands exploring her exposed flesh. The blackness and touches caused her to become twitchy with nervous energy adding to the electrically charged atmosphere.

Suddenly, light appeared in darkness. Two small lights, brilliant blue and equal in size, floated into the room. Sakura focused onto them as they approached closer. All her training didn't help her hold back the gasp of fear as she realized the lights were eyes. Feral, animal-like eyes that were drilling into hers as they moved ever closer. Frozen in place and unable to flee, Sakura was helpless. The eyes came close enough for their light to cast a soft glow upon her face. They halted their advance only a few feet from where she had plastered herself against the cold stone. The eyes roamed over her from top to bottom before returning to her own green orbs. The light in them flared brighter for a moment before shifting quickly back towards the tunnel. A broken growl, low and resonating, came from the unknown chakra form and was directed to something outside the cave. Returning its burning gaze once more to the frozen female, the eyes flared their light brightly again and then, as suddenly as the form appeared, it left. All signs of fog and the strange electricity were gone. Minutes passed in utter stillness. Once the fact that the danger had passed struck Sakura, her limbs began to tremble with the aftereffects of adrenalin. She weakly slid down the wall and curled into a ball as she waited in the dark for her teammate to return.


	3. Chapter 3

A quick note of thanks to my first follower for this story: EvilDemon1999

And my first favorite for this story: PeinVPuppy

As this is my first fan fiction, both of you guys have really given me something priceless: motivation.

If you like to have a musical theme to your stories, I would suggest "Trees" by Twenty One Pilots. It fits this story perfectly and is one I listen to often while writing.

Chapter 3

Kakashi ran a distance from their hidden camp and began to encircle the area with traps. Stopping along the perimeter, he would calm and focus himself to send out his chakra to scan for life. After sensing nothing of concern, he continued on his set path until he reached the point he had begun. The task had kept his mind occupied but now Kakashi was left alone, silent, among the tree tops. All the inner turmoil he had been battling rushed back demanding his attention. He tugged the hood of his suit off of his head and ran shaky fingers through his matted down silver hair. The need for a deep breath pushed him to tug down his trademark mask as well. Several deep gulps of air later, Kakashi leaned his back against the tree trunk and lowered his face into his hands. Oh how he needed her. This fierce desire to always be close to her, inhaling her scent, basking in the light of her smile. How many years had it been growing? This feeling began like a toothache, throbbing slightly and ignored due to more important duties and concerns. Over years, the unheeded feeling grew till, like a forgotten toothache, it stabbed him with pain and need that could no longer be dismissed. When had it gotten this bad? He couldn't hide his feelings from her much longer. He was already having trouble controlling his physical reactions to her nearness. Maybe when he got back he could request a nice, long solo mission to get his head together.

Pain lanced through Kakashi's chest. He grabbed the black, slick cloth on the front of his suit and gasped at the intense discomfort. The small ball of tight unknown chakra hidden deep in his core was swirling and pulsing as it tried to break out of the prison of Kakashi's own life force keeping it contained. Each expulsion of the foreign energy caused a coinciding wave of agony. He forced more of his chakra reserves to try and strengthen the internal barrier. The drain of the battle raging inside of him caused his body to weaken and sway. Sliding down the trunk to sit resting on the thick branch he had been standing on, he took deep, even breaths, focusing entirely on maintaining control.

Kakashi couldn't pinpoint when exactly he became aware of this chakra "tumor" residing in his core. It manifested first as a kind of itch that rested too deep to scratch. By the time it had grown enough to cause any real discomfort, he had already incased it in a sphere of his own life force to suppress it. He kept waiting on someone else to notice it: Sakura during one of their many healing sessions or Sasuke with his Sharingan, however, no one seemed to be aware of it at all. He even hinted to Sakura that he was having chest pains, causing an immediate check-up and followed with a smack to his arm with an added warning to "not scare her like that". So, he just decided to be wary of it but not worry. Now things were different. Now the chakra was churning and fighting its confinement, flares were breaking through the prison he had made for it. Those escaped traces of energy caused a visible blue glow to spread over his torso. The pain ramped up to a level that actually forced a cry from his lips. Black spots began to dance in his vision as his balanced seat on the limb wavered.

Not wanting to risk a fall from his perch, Kakashi leapt to ground, stumbling a few steps at the contact with hard earth. He turned in the direction of camp and began making his way on unsteady legs. His vision became darker by the second but he continued on determined to make it back. Following the faint sound of water, he made his way, stopping to lean against a sturdy tree on occasion for balance. _'Just a little bit farther. I must get back to her. I can hear the falls. I'm so close.'_ With the last remnants of his strength, Kakashi broke through the line of trees at the pool's edge as his legs finally gave out. He whispered out her name, "Sakura…" The roar of the waterfall was the only sound he heard before he succumbed to the black, emptiness of unconsciousness.

Kakashi's first realization upon awakening was that his mask was still down when face planted into the forest floor. The pieces of crumbled leaves he had to spit out of his mouth were a pretty strong clue. The star-filled sky indicated that he had not been out long because there were no traces of dawn to lighten the black night. The second thing he noticed was the fact that the pain in his chest was gone and the ball of foreign chakra calmly rested in its prison of Kakashi's own. He warily stood, dusting debris off the front of his suit. Immediately, he took off to the waterfall hideout, his teammate's welfare being his first priority. Upon entering the cave, the smell of ozone was strong in the confined space. Kakashi's gaze searched for the pink-haired kunoichi and found her squatting down in front of the fire pit, nursing a new flame. She sprang up at his entrance.

"Kakashi! Did you see it too?" Sakura ran right up to him. She was obviously excited about something, but seemed unharmed. Her glittering green eyes stared into his uncovered gray orb. Her body slightly bounced in place with her eagerness for his answer.

"See what? Did something happen while I was gone?" Kakashi grabbed her by the upper arms, his brows drawn together with worry. He pulled her closer to him and ran his gaze over her again, more intensely this time. She responded to his tighten embrace by gripping his arms in her small, delicate hands.

"Oh, Kakashi, it was amazing! Well, intimidating but amazing. Wild, natural chakra, Kakashi! It was able to manifest a form…with eyes! I need to make some notes." Sakura pulled out of his grip and rushed over to her bag. Digging around for a few seconds, she withdrew a small notebook and pen. Sakura set down on the edge of the cot, opening the notebook onto her lap and scribbling furiously. She continued her excited description, "It started like a thick, grey fog with little lightning strikes all in it. It seemed to be conscious because it followed me in here and it was touching me, almost like it was checking me out." She paused a second in her speech and writing. Her hands absentmindedly rubbed her arms, her eyes distant with deep thoughts. She looked back up at Kakashi continuing, "And the form it made, I couldn't make out a lot of details because, well, because it put out the fire. However, I could see its eyes. They were like an animal's; a wolf's eyes and they glowed blue. I mean really glowed like the moon. I have never seen anything like it."

"This was inside the cave?" Kakashi scanned the space for any traces left behind by the phenomenon. Other than the ozone smell and the diminished fire, nothing was out of place. "What did it do exactly?"

"Well, it was kind of touching me with the fog, like it was curious about me. Something else seemed to catch its attention because it looked back towards the entrance and growled. After that it left." Sakura shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal.

"It growled? How could wild chakra, even with a primitive form, growl?"

"That's just one of the questions I would love to answer. I can't wait to ask Tsunade what she thinks." Sakura finished the notes she was writing with a flourish and packed away the book and pen. She stood and walked back over to stand in front of him. She looked up at him, a look of wonder on her face. He couldn't help but sigh to himself, reflecting on how beautiful she was at that moment. Sakura, with a sound of awe in her lowered voice, confided, "It was like being in the presence of the Kyubi, only it wasn't so immense and frightening. It just seemed curious, like it was a child inspecting a shiny stone or a new type of bug." With that confession, the excitement of the mission and the unexpected encounter caught up with her and a yawn slipped out of her mouth.

Kakashi noticed this and reached to pull her tired body back into his embrace. "Whatever it was, it's gone now, so we should take some time to rest. If we leave early enough, we could make it home by early afternoon tomorrow." Sakura nodded her agreement and crossed the space towards the cot, pulling Kakashi by the hand with her. The two were so close that there was no question about sharing the sleeping space. In the low light of the fire, they both lay spooned together on the bed. Sakura snuggled with her back up to his chest and Kakashi encircled her waist with his arms. It took no time for her to fall into a restful sleep. Trust and familiarity allowed her to drift off quickly while he stayed awake for a while just watching her breaths become soft and regular. Kakashi lower his face into her hair, inhaling her scent deeply. The peace and contentment of the close contact with his most beloved person eased all the pain and confusion he had felt. Sleep made his eyes heavy, and as he too drifted off, he repeated to himself, _'I can never lose this woman. I won't survive without her.'_ Then, with the sound of a waterfall in the background, both fell into a deep rest.


	4. Chapter 4

I would like to say thank you to everyone that has read, favorited, and followed so far. A special thanks to my first reviewer: Prescripto13. Responses to the story are very welcome. This chapter may have slight adult content (slight lemon), so please be aware. Thanks again!

Chapter 4

Dawn's first light shone through the water of the falls creating a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes on the wall of the tunnel. Sleeping with her scent in his nose and the warmth of her body next to his had kept away the nightmares, influencing instead visions of love and passions shared. Kakashi lay there, fuzzy-headed with contentment, watching the dancing lights on the stone. He observed the flickering show move across the small room, driven on by the sun's slow accent into the sky. He tightened his grip around the woman in his arms. Sakura had turned around in her sleep, placing her head on Kakashi's shoulder. Her own arms encircled his chest and her legs entwined with his long limbs. They slept together like longtime lovers. Their whole lives were entangled much like their bodies were in sleep. They were part of the same team so worked together. When not on missions, they ate meals together, trained together, went to the movies together, and sometimes just sat in a tree, both reading from little orange books- those were Kakashi's favorite times. Of course, they were often joined by the other members of the team, Naruto and Sasuke, but Kakashi and Sakura were always together. It was the best relationship he had ever known. Perfect in every way except one, there had never been any sexual contact, ever. It was an unspoken rule, a line neither one of them had attempted to cross. It was never discussed by them, all though many other people in the village had no problem making the pair's close behavior the topic of many a gossip session. The very avoidance of these particular feelings was becoming impossible for Kakashi, not to mention maddening.

Kakashi had already gone through every reason why things shouldn't change. Every excuse for why they should never try to add that kind of intimacy to their relationship had been analyzed over and over in his mind. His final conclusion, Hatake Kakashi, Hero of the Hidden Leaf, was a coward. When he finally worked it all out, he had to admit that he was scared beyond words to lose what he had with Sakura. None of the other reasons; age, history, team dynamic, these things didn't come close to his fear of ruining the one thing that kept him sane. Sakura had brought him peace and a feeling of happiness for the first time in his life. So, Kakashi set up barriers around his desires and stubbornly refused to make any move, but every smile, every tinkling laugh, every angry pout, and every flash of emotion in her lively, green eyes worked against him. His determination was losing this battle, and fast.

Even now, in a cave bathed by early morning light, laying together in warmth and comfort, Kakashi had the evidence of his weakness growing in the tight fitting black spandex of his pants. Sakura mumbled in her sleep, snuggling closer and rolling her hips into him as she searched out more of his body heat. A small moan escaped from his lips at the friction between their groins. Using all of his stealth technics, honed from years as an ANBU assassin, he wormed his way out of the tangle of their bodies. Once standing on his feet, Kakashi froze for a moment, watching for a sign that he had awakened her. Satisfied that Sakura slept on undisturbed, he reached into his bag that leaned against the stone wall. The fire had gone out during the night but it wasn't needed in the warmth of the new morning. Kakashi grabbed a set of pants and a new undershirt with attached mask from the bag. He had no more clean underwear thanks to a few restless night's sleep and his vivid dreamlife. He had shoved the evidence of those losses of control deep in the bottom of his duffle to deal with at home. He turned to ease out through the entrance, glancing back to the sleeping woman as he past the threshold. Thankfully, she had rolled onto her stomach, with her face turned away from the sun's rays coming in through the opening. _'She should sleep long enough for me to bathe and give myself some relief.'_ Satisfied, Kakashi left the cave with clean clothes in hand and headed down the path to the pool's edge. He slipped off the offensive spandex, thankful that at least the suit wasn't green. The mask and undershirt were next. Finally nude, he eased into the water, careful not to make too much noise by disturbing the surface. He moved to the center of the pool where he was just over waist deep. He dunked his whole self under the water, coming up slowly so as not to splash. Using his hands, Kakashi scooped liquid up and vigorously rubbed the signs of sleep from his face. After a few swipes along his chest and shoulders, he ran his hands down the front of his body until he reached his engorged manhood. With a deep sigh and the faintest whisper of his passion's name, he relented to his own desires and began to stroke his hard shaft. Visions straight out of the previous night's dreams played behind his closed eyes, fueling his rhythm to increase. He groaned out loud, surrendering to his own weaknesses.

Sakura woke the minute she could no longer feel his heat warming her body. She always pretended to be asleep longer than him. Knowing Kakashi is, in many ways, a very private person, she left him to tend to his needs in peace. The moment she heard the sound of his exit, her eyes shot open and she stretched her arms over her head. She always got the best sleep when wrapped in his protective embrace for the night. She eased off the cot and arched her back for a final stretch. Silently padding over to retrieve her clothes from their neat stack, she pulled the pants from the pile and went to slide them on while balancing on one foot. A low groan stilled her movement. The sound had traveled across the surface of the pool and down the tunnel straight to her sensitive ears. Slowly lowering to crouch, pants forgotten on the floor, Sakura stealthy creep toward the curtain of water streaming down. She suppressed her chakra as she approached the cave side of the falls. A grunt from the pool caused her to stiffen her posture, but didn't stop her forward movement. Curiosity and excitement made her heart pound with a racing beat. A break in the streaming water offered her an unobstructed view of the pool and the man within it.

Kakashi was completely naked, waist-deep in the beautiful, natural bath, surrounded by a rich, thick forest of trees. Dappled sunlight streamed through the leaves to kiss the wet, tone perfection that was this shinobi. Water droplets glistened across the muscular back turned towards the falls where Sakura stayed hidden. She could only see a small bit of the side of his face. His mouth slightly opened as he panted for breath, his eyes tightly closed, his arm bulging as he stroked himself with a sure, angry motion. The vision of him in the water, preforming such a primal act, shot through Sakura like lightening, causing her core to clench with fierce lust. He hunched over suddenly with a pained murmur that sounded almost like a plea, his rhythm increasing along with his panting breaths. She fought the urge to touch her own breasts or rub against her mound, frightened that any movement might alert him to his audience. Kakashi suddenly threw his head back exclaiming in pleasure and softly calling Sakura's name to the watching trees. She could not hold back the small moan that escaped her lips. He immediately stopped pulling for the last bit of release and went completely silent. Sakura quickly scurried down the tunnel to the cave room. Knowing her time was short, she snatched her panties off and used them to clean the moisture from between her legs. Kakashi's sense of smell was freakishly good and she didn't want him to know that she had been watching. Stuffing the underwear as close to the bottom of her bag as she could, she then threw her jonin pants on, followed closely by a long-shelved blue shirt. She smoothed her long, tangled pink hair the best she could and twisted it into a quick bun, secured with a senbon. The rest of her tools went in pouches in her pants. Lastly, she tied her forehead protector in place around her head.

Kakashi entered just as she was securing the straps of her bag. Hair and skin still wet from his bath, he was only dressed in a sleeveless undershirt and his own loose jonin pants. He looked directly at her, scrutinizing her face as if searching for proof of a lie in her calm expression. After a few moments, he grabbed his own things and made quick work of gearing up to leave. "Are you ready?" He inquired, flashing her a wrinkled eye that gave proof to the smile hidden under the mask.

"I was waiting on you, lazy" Sakura quipped back at him. It looked like her secret was safe and she had avoided the possibility of embarrassment. Kakashi waved his hand dramatically toward the exit, indicating that she should proceed him. She sauntered forward, giddy with her near escape, until the sound of his deep inhale as she passed by froze the smile on her face and a flush of red sprang over her cheeks. _'Damn, I'm busted!'_


	5. Chapter 5

I would like to once again thank everyone that is reading this story. For me, watching the views go up is pure gold and inspires me to not get lazy because there is someone, somewhere waiting to find out what happens.

Chapter 5

Kakashi and Sakura traveled the rest of the distance home in silence. This in itself was not unusual, however, today it felt awkward. Their mutual awareness of each other was more intense than ever, she had seen something and he had been seen doing something that changed all the norms of their relationship. Both were so wrapped up in their own heads, they didn't notice the gate to home approaching quickly until it loomed right in front of them. After slowing to a walk, Kakashi whipped his book out of a back pocket and buried his face in it. It looked like he was just avoiding the sign-in paperwork but really he just needed an extra mask to hide behind. Sakura, seeing that he had no intention of stepping up, grabbed the clipboard from the chunin on guard duty with a mumbled hello. The young man blushed furiously at her acknowledgement which went unnoticed by the pink-haired kunoichi but the grey eye peeking over the top of the worn book missed nothing. She put the last flourish to the forged signature of her partner and handed the paperwork back to the guard with a big smile that made the young man's face turn a darker shade of red. As she walked away, Kakashi lingered back to give the guard a long, hard stare.

"Are you coming, Kakashi?" Sakura threw the question back over her shoulder as she skipped along the road, happy to be home. After another pointed look at the flustered chunin, He followed behind the kunoichi, book back in place in front of his face. People all along the path towards the Hokage Tower waved and called out to the pair. Kakashi watched from behind the pages as Sakura returned waves and greetings, his attention mostly on the sway of her hips. Suddenly, with a blur of orange, the swishing curves disappeared from his view. Confused, he looked around in a circle for Sakura who had been grabbed up by a boisterous, blonde. She squealed with laughter, "Naruto, put me down." Naruto just chuckled at her protests and squeezed her tighter against his chest.

"I just missed you so much, you guys were gone forever!" he whined, as he rained kisses all over her face. Bringing the spinning greeting to a halt, he set Sakura down on her feet and stared down into her eyes. A smile plastered broadly across his face. "You two come out tonight, we will get the whole team together and have dinner and drinks. We can swap mission stories and catch up. Look, here comes Sir Stick-in-the-Mud now. How can you say no to that face?" That very face Naruto referred to belong to their last teammate, Sasuke, and was wearing a scowl directed at the hyper young man. Sasuke nodded at Kakashi and then pried the young medic out of Naruto's arms. He looked her up and down, searching for any signs of injury, seemed satisfied with what he saw and pulled her into a gentler hug.

"I'm glad you made it back safe, and Naruto is right. We should get together to catch up. If you have some time later, I was wondering if you could give my eyes a check-up. This mission required that I used my Sharingan quite a bit." Sakura immediately reached her hands to the side of Sasuke's face but he gently gripped her wrists to stop her. "Not right now, you have to report in and it can wait until you are rested." Sakura nodded her understanding, flashing both men a huge smile.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Well, we should get going. Don't want Tsunade getting mad because we're late." He ignored his team's looks of disbelief and hurried down the path, hoping Sakura would just follow along with no further affectionate greetings from eager shinobi. They were all very close, family even. A group of orphans with no one else but each other, but the stab of jealousy that started at the gate with the blushing guard had exploded with the sight of a very grown Naruto rubbing Sakura's chest hard against his own. _'And what the hell is the deal with those kisses!'_ Kakashi's frustration had caused the chakra in his core to churn and flare. The familiar pain that accompanied the force's disquiet had begun to spread and intensify. He gritted his teeth as he walked along, his thoughts in disarray. _'Even Sasuke, who doesn't like to touch anyone, had to get a feel!'_ Kakashi's inner monologue did nothing to calm him, hell, it made him want to growl out loud.

"Are you alright? We don't have to go if you are tired" Sakura curled her hand around Kakashi's arm, stopping his forward march, and looked up at his face, concern evident in her inquiring eyes. She had noticed his unsettled demeanor. He returned her gaze and immediately calm took hold, chest pains easing. He smiled down at her, visible only by the crinkle of his uncovered eye.

"I'm fine and of course we will go. Just ready to get this report done." Relief spread across her features and she dazzled him with his special smile that she saved just for him. Sakura didn't speak just grabbed his hand in her own, then continued down the road pulling him along. A flare from the chakra ball broke free from the barrier and traveled down his arm to the hand being held tightly. Kakashi could feel the electric tingle as it moved along his own chakra pathways, only at this time the agony that usually came with its movement was thankful missing. Even the strange power seemed to long for her touch. They continued to stay hand-in-hand until standing in front of the doors of the Hokage's office. Sakura reclaimed her hand to knock loudly and upon receiving permission to enter, opened the heavy door.

"Shishou, we're back" Sakura called out in a sing-song voice. Tsunade looked up from the mountain of paperwork, smiling at young medic. She had adopted Sakura after the death of her parents, years before, so Tsunade was not only welcoming her apprentice home but her daughter.

"No problems, I hope." Tsunade posed the question to Sakura but her glare was leveled at the shinobi who had retreated to lean against the wall by the window. It was always smart to be near an exit when dealing with the hot-headed Hokage. Face calm and book in place, Kakashi pretended to turn the page, letting his partner answer her shishou's questions. He turned his body in a way that allowed him to keep Sakura in his sights, but her protective mother couldn't see where his gaze rested. Sakura rattled off details of their mission while she handed Tsunade the scroll the team had stolen. "Good work you two. This information will make a big difference in the next strategy mission. Take a few days to rest, the whole team is leaving out soon so everyone needs to be at their best." Kakashi, taking that to mean they were being dismissed, moved towards the door and made it as far as placing his hand on the doorknob when the Hokage added, "Oh yeah Sakura, Suna has sent a second official request about that issue we discussed before you left, and the Kazikage has sent you a personal letter. Think about it and let me know what you decide." Interest perked, Kakashi turned around to see Tsunade extending a scroll in the medic's direction. He caught the hesitation before Sakura reached out slowly for the letter, mumbling a thanks,and hurrying out of the room with head down to hide the pinkness of her cheeks. With a nod to the Hokage, Kakashi quickened his pace to catch up to his partner just as she exited the building, the suspect letter still clenched tightly in her hands.

"Boy, you are sure becoming pretty important to be receiving personal letters from the leader of the Sand." Kakashi tried to keep his tone light and teasing despite the curiosity and jealousy knotted right under his breastbone. He watched for any reaction from her that would give a clue to the letter's content. Sure enough, Sakura stiffened for a second before she forced a grin on face while shoving the missive into her pocket, unread.

"It's nothing," she waved a hand in a dismissive manner, "Gaara probably just wants to go over the plans for the medical school expansion that I've been helping with. You know, boring teaching stuff." She elbowed Kakashi in a playful way, referring to his own distaste for teaching. This action turned into a childish shoving match, with each of them trying to push the other off the path. Ignoring the stares of people on the street, they continued their playing, giggling and laughing all the way to the door of Sakura's apartment building. She stepped up on the first stair and turned to face him, "I'm going in to take a long soak in a bubble bath and finally put on some clean clothes, so, I guess I will see you tonight." She turned to go but Kakashi hand gripped her upper arm gently, preventing her from leaving him.

"Sakura, you would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?" The visible portion of his face showed his worry as he awaited her response. Her face fell as she pondered his question. She couldn't force any sound out of her throat through the knot lodged there, so she just nodded, flashed him a quick smile, and pulled out of his grip to hurry inside her building. Kakashi stood on the sidewalk for quite some time, staring at the closed door, worry joining the other turbulent emotions running through his mind. He had to find out what was in that letter because he had a bad feeling it meant he was running out of time.

Once inside her small apartment, Sakura breathed a heavy sigh as she kicked her sandals off by the door. A light layer of dust covered every surface of her otherwise spotless home. She dropped her bag on the kitchen table and pulled all the dirty clothes out, shoving them into the small washer in a closet nearby. She stripped the pants and shirt she had on, remembering to remove the letter from her pocket. Sakura added those clothes to the load and started the machine. She strode nude to her bathroom to run water for a long soak. Checking the temperature and finding it adequately hot, she added a cherry-scented liquid that burst into bubbles on contact with the rushing water. Sakura took her robe off the hook on the bathroom door and threw it on while she waited for her bath. She went into her bedroom to pull out clean clothes for after her soak. Once she had laid out her outfit and underwear, she picked up the letter and sat on the edge of her bed. Her eyes darted back and forth as she read the missive, her brow furrowed with thought. With a second heavy sigh, Sakura placed the letter on the nightstand and rose up from her bed, deciding all her problems could wait until after her bath. She entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Dusk had fallen over Konoha. Street lights flickered on all over the darkening streets. Young children returned home to start bedtime rituals, off duty shinobi made their way to favorite hangouts, and working ones hurried off to assigned missions. One ninja, however, made his perch in a tree right outside a particular apartment building. He watched, silent and still, as Sakura went about dressing for a night out. The brief sight of the kunoichi's naked body after she removed her robe to dress in a matching baby blue underwear set caused his hands to clench tightly. No, he would not be deterred from his mission by the twitching of his treacherous loins. Patiently he waited as the young woman completed her beauty ritual and left, turning off the lights and locking the door behind her. He watched her exit the building and walk off down the street heading towards the nightlife district. Once she was out of sight, he leapt from the tree to the fire escape outside the bedroom window. A few quick hand signs to release the seals and he eased into the room, closing the portal behind him. Kakashi knew he should feel bad about breaking into Sakura's home but he had to know what that letter had said. It just seemed so important to know. A quick glance around the room and he located his target on the nightstand by the bed. He approached the folded paper like it was a dangerous object. Gingerly lifting it with his hand, Kakashi observed that wrinkles marred the thick vellum, like it had been gripped too firmly and crinkled. With a deep breath to calm his racing heart, he nervously opened the letter and began to read.

 _Dear Haruno-san,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. The improvements you suggested have greatly benefited our medical program and it is my hope you will soon be able to view the changes in person. Temari and Kankuro send their well wishes and hope it will not be long before they see you again. Kankuro's wife is expecting and they desire to request of you the favor of attending to the birth personally. In Kankuro's own words, "Only the best for my little sand squirt!" or some such nonsense. You know how he can be at times._

 _As I am sure you already know, the Council has sent a formal request to your Hokage in order to begin negotiations to strengthen the ties of our villages through our potential marriage. Since we have known each other a long time and, I feel, have built a strong friendship based on mutual trust and understanding, I have agreed to the Council's request on this matter. Please take some time to consider this proposal. I am aware that this would be difficult for you, leaving your home and friends, but I truly believe we could be happy and accomplish great things working together. Of course, the decision is yours to make. I eagerly await your reply._

 _Yours,_

 _Suna no Gaara_

 _Godaime Kazekage_

Kakashi sank down to sit on the edge of the bed. He just couldn't believe the words delicately scrawled on the paper hanging loose in his hand. His heart pounded, his hands became wet with perspiration, and nausea gripped his gut. He snatched the mask off his face to better draw air into his gulping mouth. "No," he whimpered to the dark room, his heart breaking into a thousandshards. Kakashi hung his head and covered his face with his hands, one still holding the offensive missive. A silent sob was the only movement he made for a long time before, suddenly, his posture stiffened and his hand clenched the letter, crumbling it. "NO!" this time coming out as a deep growl. Lightening traveled to the fingers gripping the paper. The thick edges of the vellum darkened and curled, burning slowly until there was only ashes left.


	6. Chapter 6

And so, the plot thickens… Thank you again for sticking with this story. Please be advised that the next chapter is Mature (lemon and language) and keep that in mind as you continue. As always, thoughts and comments are welcome. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

The tavern was full, filled to the brim with smoke, noise, and shinobi. The place had a name, but everyone just referred to it as 'Our Place' and nothing else. In a comfortable, worn booth in front of the windows lining one wall, a small group of friends chatted to each other while they awaited their missing teammate. Sakura sat closest to the window. Naruto sat next to her, one arm slung lazily behind her shoulders, and the other one was pointed at their companion in the opposite seat.

"And then Sasuke decides to seduce the information out of that stubborn, old crone, only" Naruto paused to let out a deep belly laugh, trying in vain to catch his breath between hoots of amusement. "Only, after trying for days, she would have nothing of him. He had to use the Sharingan to get the info. Ha, ha. So much for the famed Uchiha seduction technics."

"Shut it, dobe." Sasuke shot Naruto the dirtiest look in his arsenal before turning to Sakura to explain, "The target only liked woman." His simple explanation sent Naruto into a fresh fit of laughter at his dark-haired friend's expense.

Sakura chuckled at her teammates as they continue to trade insults and innuendos about each other's "sexual talents" or lack thereof. As much as she had missed the two, her mind was more pressingly occupied. Sakura took the time to observe her companions while they continued their playful banter. When did they change from scrappy preteens into full grown, handsome, powerful shinobi? Both had completed a two-year tour in ANBU previously and were now in the mandatory year of regular duties. The rules had changed to prevent the burnout of valuable Leaf nin and the results were encouraging. Sakura, herself was scheduled to test for ANBU soon in order to join them on their next tour, along with Kakashi. The test was just a formality in light of Sakura's skills and her newer, advanced battle technics. Speaking of Kakashi, he had still not shown up. The others had not waited to order food and drinks, citing their leader's tendency to be always late to everything. Her gaze trained on the empty space on the seat across the table, Sakura downed the drink in front of her, the warmth burning down her throat. She quickly poured another from the bottle on the table and threw it back just as quickly as the last one. He wasn't coming. Sakura wearily rubbed her eyes, she knew she would have to answer Gaara's letter before too long, but, how to decide without discussing it with all of her most important people first, she just didn't know.

Naruto excused himself from their table to speak to some other friends who had just come into the bar. Sakura sighed out loud causing Sasuke's eyebrow to raise with inquiry, "Troubles?"

"Nothing that can't wait. I'm just tired tonight. Sparring session tomorrow?" Sasuke looked like he wanted to question her more but thought better of it, nodding his accent to the training. Relieved, Sakura smiled at her friend and stood to leave. "Tell Naruto goodnight for me," another nod from her teammate and Sakura left the bar, headed to home and sleep.

The walk back to her apartment went quickly with her mind so thoroughly occupied. She entered the building and unlocked her front door in a daze. Taking off her shoes, Sakura felt for the light switch to brighten the pitch black interior of her home. She threw her keys on the little table next to her bag still waiting to be unpacked. That was when she felt it, a presence in her apartment with an angry, turbulent chakra signature. The weak light coming from the entryway did nothing to illuminate the dark of the bedroom where the energy resided. "Is anyone there?" Sakura inquired to the pitch-black of the room. The click of her bedside lamp startled her, making her jump slightly. There, seated on the edge of her bed, was Kakashi. In the soft glow of the lamp, he sat, staring at the forehead protector that had been removed from its normal place and was now clutched in his hand. His silver hair, freed from its restraint, curtained across his brow and over his eyes. A pile of ash and scraps of burned paper on the floor between his feet gave Sakura an idea of what was wrong. She cleared the anxiety from her throat with a cough and forcing some lightness to her voice she stated, "Kakashi, we missed you at dinner." She slowly started across the room but stopped abruptly when he snapped up his head at the sound of her voice, his unmasked, attractive face tight with his fury. "Kakashi?" she inquired softly.

"When were you going to tell me, Sakura?" His lips snarled into an ugly line as he hissed out her name. Sakura flinched at his low, vicious tone. She schooled her face into a mask of calm and took a few steps closer to him.

"Tell you what, Kakashi?" she said keeping her voice light. In an abrupt, angry motion he was off the bed and crossed the space between them halting right before her, his mismatched eyes boring into the green of her own.

He threw his forehead protector to the ground, making a twang as the metal struck the hard floor. "Really, you are playing ignorant. About this?" Kakashi spit out while moving his face closer to her own, putting them nose to nose.

"I'm not sure what you want me to say, Kakashi. You are going to have to specify what has you so upset that you would break into my home to confront me with it", she tried to sound as indignant as possible but it came out weak in the face of his outrage. He growled with frustration, spinning away from her and stomping to the opposite side of the room while running his hands through his hair.

"Don't bullshit me, Sakura. Not about this" he raged, voice raised now with his increasing anger. She sputtered for a moment, taken back at his tone. She had never seen him like this, especially not with her.

Guilt made her defensive, making her own voice louder and angry, "I don't know what you are talking about, and I don't care right now. All I want is some peace and quiet so I can sleep." Sakura moved over to the closet, jerked the door open, and grabbed a nightie from inside. She threw the garment on the bed and turned her back to him. Color rose on his cheeks as his control begun to slip.

"Cut the shit, Sakura. I read that letter. I know about you and Gaara. I know that negotiations for your marriage have already begun. When were you going to tell your team, tell me, that you are abandoning us?" Kakashi fumed, his chest heaving and hands clenched into tight balls. Sakura whipped around to retort when a pounding on the wall reminded her that the apartment walls were thin and her neighbor was getting a front seat to this argument. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm her rising ire.

"Nothing is decided," she tried to reassure him, "I was going to talk to you about it, I…"

Kakashi snorted, "When were you going to 'talk' about it, when we were escorting you to the damn wedding?"

Her temper flared, "What is your problem? I am only trying to do my duty to my village to the best of my abilities. I am a kunoichi. I have my pride, too." The pounding on the wall increased in volume and force.

"Pride? In being a whore for the village? What is so _proud_ about that?" Kakashi spat in her direction, folding his arms over his chest. The wild chakra seemed to be raging inside of him, adding to the agony of his injured heart and causing his words to be harsher.

Sakura flew across the room until she was right in his face. Her words were low and curt, "I don't have to take that from anyone, especially you. Take that nasty attitude of yours and GET OUT!" With that she whirled around and stomped out of the bedroom. The incessant banging finally made Kakashi lose the fragile grip on his rage. He let out a loud roar, grabbed the lamp from the nightstand, and with blue lightening streaking down his arm, he flung the light hard against the offending wall. It shattered, leaving pieces embedded in the sheetrock. The noise went silent at last. He flew after her, following her into the living room, determined to finish this fight.

"We are not done yet, Sakura" Kakashi assured the pink-haired medic, wrapping his arms from behind her, a few quick hand signs and they both disappeared out of the apartment in cloud of smoke.

Kakashi had brought them to a clearing, far from the walls surrounding the village. It was a quiet, secluded place he often came to have peace, but serenity wasn't what he was after at this moment. He grabbed Sakura by the upper arm when she began to walk in a fast pace towards home and whipped her around to face him. Her green eyes, sparkling with anger, met his head on. Her mouth was pinched and her chest heaved with deep breaths. She gave a hard tug to pull from his tight grip. Even like this, she was absolutely beautiful. "Do you love him?" He steeled himself for her answer. Her twisted features became slack with surprise.

"What?" Sakura could only squeak out the question.

"Do you love him?" he growled out in frustration, his gaze trained on her face, searching for the truth in her answer.

Sakura went with the truth, "No. I admire Gaara, like him even, but I could never love him."

"Then, why? Why marry someone that you don't love?" Kakashi's voice broke a little bit to his utter embarrassment. She looked down to the ground between them, her answer not much louder than a whisper, forcing him to strain to hear.

"Because, you never asked me." A sob escaped her throat and suddenly, all the years of loving this closed off, emotional stunted man made her angry. She shoved him hard in the chest. "After all the time we've been together, through all these years, you are content to remain the same, never taking that next step forward. Well, I want more and if I can't have it with the man I love, I might as well sacrifice my own desires for the good of the village." Stubborn pride and unshed tears in her eyes, she looked up to face him head on, her body shaking with emotion. "I tried to be patient with you, give you time to come to grips with your own feelings, but, I'm tired of waiting for you to decide I'm worth taking a chance."

Kakashi was struck silent, his eyes wide with disbelief. Struggling to process her quiet speech, he could only stammer out a question, "You love me?" At her gentle affirmative, Kakashi's heart swelled with joy. He pulled her into his arms, holding her almost painfully tight. He lower his mouth to her ear to whisper, "Sakura, you have this all wrong. It's I who am not worthy of you." Tilting his head slightly to the side, he kissed her, trying to convey all the emotions he had kept hidden from her with the intimate touch of his lips. The wild chakra within him burst forth from its prison with elation and flooded his own life force pathways with power. The static charge traveled to where their skin touched causing Sakura to moan at the pleasant tingle of electricity. His tongue requested entry and it was happily granted. They explored each other with mouths and hands. For Kakashi, it felt like he had come home.

He ran his hands down her back and then around to tighten on her hips. Using his hold, Kakashi jerked her forward to grind their loins together, the friction between their bodies flared the haze of lust building in both of them. His kisses gained a sense of urgency, his fingers left the soft curve of her hip and traveled to caress her breast through the soft material of her dress. Sakura gasped, arching her body to allow him better access. She wanted more. Kakashi broke their kiss to nibble down along her jaw and her neck, alternating between hard nips at her flesh and soft, lingering strokes with his tongue. Sakura whimpered her encouragement, her hold on his shoulders tightening as her need built.

The sound of a zipper cut through the quiet, isolation of the forest clearing. The soft hum of insects was drowned out by the rustle of cloth and the rapid gasps and pleasured sounds of their combined excitement. Her dress, thrown onto the ground, was quickly joined by his shirt as he tore it off in his haste to pull her back into his arms and his kiss. Sakura sighed out loud, "Oh, Kakashi...", but whatever words she intended to say were swallowed by his lips pressing tightly to her own. She ran her hands up the front of his firm chest, marveling at the ripple of muscles underneath her touch. He shuttered at her exploration, desire shooting straight to his groin. His deft fingers made short work of the clasp of her bra, drawing the cover off her full breasts, revealing her small, rosy nipples to the cool night air. The sight of them pebbling in the cold flared both his need and the chakra in his core. He reached out, grabbing Sakura about the waist and lifting her up to bring her breasts closer to his face. Taking her nipple in his mouth, Kakashi slide her form up and down his body, the stiffness of his erection rubbed against her dripping core. Sakura could only cling to him, her hands running and clenching through his hair, her legs holding firmly around his hips, her back arching to give better access for his mouth's pleasurable assault.

With a deep moan of pleasure, Kakashi released her breast from his mouth and, tightening his hold on her body, he dropped to his knees with an abrupt thump. Sakura's limbs, firmly wrapped around him, held her in place against him. His hands glided up her back to gently support her as he gingerly laid her onto the blanket of their discarded clothes on the soft grass. He gripped the sides of her face and lower his lips to hers, claiming her with a soul-shattering kiss. He finally released her mouth, allowing Sakura to gulp down air while he rained kisses along her neck and collarbone, until once again reaching her breasts. He moved back and forth between them, alternating from tiny bites and to lingering licks from his tongue. His hands lingered in their travel along her curves, searching for the places that made her squirm with pleasure. Sakura murmured little sounds of desire and used her grip on his hair to pull his mouth closer. When Kakashi's hand slide from her thigh to rub the wetness of her panties, she couldn't help but jerk her hips against the pressure of his fingers, her whole body shuttering at the force building deep in her core.

He continued stroking the bundle of nerves through the lace of her underwear until her gasps and murmurs became louder cries of mounting desire. The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils, increasing the urgency of his touches. Abruptly, Kakashi pulled away, clambering to his feet, and swiftly removed his pants. Once free from the restriction of his last article of clothing, he fell once again to his knees, kneeling between her creamy thighs like a man in prayer. He grasped the sides of her lacy, blue panties, pulling them swiftly down her legs and tossing them to the side. The sight of her, naked and sprawled out on the forest floor, burned into his mind and made his chest tighten to emotion. Her eyes, cloudy with warmth and desire, traveled down from his face until her gaze rested on the proof of his need. She reached her hand out tentatively to touch the pearl of fluid at his tip. He stiffened but forced himself to keep still to allow her exploration. When she gently closed her fingers around his length, he threw his back at the intense electricity of her touch and huskily whispered her name to the night sky. He spread her legs wider, opening her to his gaze and touch, and parted her folds lightly with his fingers. After rubbing her nub for a moment, he thrust one finger into her warm, wet opening, and began a slow, pumping tempo with the digit. The friction was too much for Sakura, the pace of her hand stroking his length increasing with the intensity of their mutual pleasuring. He added a second finger, spreading in a scissoring motion to widen her tight passage. The sensations forced Sakura to arch and cry out. Her sounds of ecstasy made his manhood twitch violently in her hand and his sack tighten. He stilled her stroking motion, entangled his fingers in hers, holding her hand, he pinned it against the ground above her head. Lust burned away what was left of his control. Taking himself in his free hand, he rubbed the tip up and down along her entrance before lining up with the opening and thrusting into her warmth with one, powerful stroke. The intense pleasure made him curl his body around her writhing form, his mouth gapped open, gulping in air, as he tried to calm his raging need.

A thick mist had formed in the clearing, providing cover for the joined figures in the grass. It drifted in a circular motion as if driven by a gentle wind, encircling the lovers, with occasional flashes of blue lightening that heightened the static that filled the night. Slowly, Kakashi began to withdraw from her before snapping back forward, burying himself again. The rhythm of his thrusts building in pace as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, lost in the feeling of her walls clutching his length. The swirl of the mist sped up in response to their frantic coupling, turbulent and growing, it reached up towards the star-filled sky like a reversed tornado, giving off lightning strikes large and bright enough to be seen by the guards patrolling the walls of the village. The wild chakra filled Kakashi with vast energy, fueling his desire and pushing him to pommel into her with increased vigor. Sakura wrapped her legs around him to accommodate his furious pace, drawing him deeper inside of her. The sound of their heated flesh slapping together and the slippery feel of their sweat drenched skin pushed them both closer to the edge. Their cries of passion became louder and louder, echoing through the trees surrounding them. Sparks from the swirling air reached out to caress the entwined lovers, adding pulses of electricity to their fierce coupling.

Sakura's insides clenched in spasms and her body convulsed with release. Kakashi pounded into her vigorously, her walls milking him deliciously, until he cried out his own relief loudly to the tree tops. After a few more quivering thrusts, they stilled, clinging to each other while they struggled to catch their breath. The volatile cloud of mist collapsed back to the ground, spreading out through the clearing and into the surrounding trees, before dissipating into the night air. Kakashi wrapped his arms around Sakura, rolling them until his back rested against the cool ground and she lay draped across the front of him. A satisfied chuckle rumbled through his chest causing her to pick up her head and stare into his face questioningly.

"I love you too, Sakura" he simply stated, holding her tighter to him. She gave him a sleepy grin before laying her head back down to his chest. In the warmth of each other's embrace, the lovers fell asleep in the quiet peace of the forest.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry about the wait. I took a few days off which turned into a couple of weeks. I promise to keep my 'vacations' to a minimum and the next chapter is already almost finished. I will post tomorrow or the day after (it is much longer so needs more editing). Thank you again to all my readers for your continuing support. Please know that I read all of your reviews and take your comments and suggestions to heart.

Chapter 7

Waking up in a serene, wooded natural clearing, in the soft light of dawn, in the arms of the one you love, should have been the most romantic moment of either Sakura's or Kakashi's life. They had only a moment to exchange the briefest smiles as their eyes met, the gentle chirping of the birds singing them into consciousness, before they realized, soaked in early morning dew, they were freezing. Their eyes, that had opened to gaze longingly at each other, now widened, not with regret or embarrassment, but with the knowledge that warming up might be imperative to survival. The lovers shot up, dancing in small circles and taking turns to grab up discarded clothing.

Sakura curled her lip in disgust at the state of her dinner dress. It was covered in leaves and other forest debris, however it was the clearly visible, obvious stains that might be hard to explain while walking home through the village. Having no other option, she pulled the garment over her head, catching sight of Kakashi hopping on one foot to finish putting on his pants. Happiness welled up in her chest and burst out as amused laughter. He straightened, buckling his pants, and reached down for his shirt.

"Oh, that's funny, huh?" Kakashi smirked in her direction and strolled towards Sakura, extending out a scrap of delicate, blue lace. Recognizing her missing panties, she made a grab for them, only to have them snatched out of reach before disappearing into his pocket. Chuckling at her exasperated expression, Kakashi reached his hands around her waist to where the zipper to her dress lie. He slowly pulled the zipper up, running his free hand along her back, until it reached the top. Sliding his touch down to rest on her waist, he gazed down into her face. She looked up at him, trying and failing to keep a stern look on her features. "I meant what I said last night," he tightened his hold on her, bringing her face closer to his own, "and now, more than ever, I can't let you go. Not for the village, not for politics, not for anything." The truth of his feelings was evident in the serious expression on his uncovered face.

Sakura's eyes softened and a genuine smile spread across her face. "After waiting all this time for you, I'm not going anywhere, besides," she crooked her mouth into a mischievous grin and ran a finger along his bare cheek, "how else am going to get to see more of this handsome face unless I'm always around?"

"What about that letter? The Counsel might not want to let such an opportunity pass them by. They may try to push forward with that sham of a marriage."

"You let Tsunade and I take care of that. She would never let me be forced into marriage with anybody," Sakura reassured him, circling her hands around his neck and into his hair. She began to pull him down into a kiss, but Kakashi was not to be distracted.

"And what about Gaara?" he questioned. Her friendship with the young, village leader still bothered him, despite what had developed between them recently.

"Don't worry about it. Gaara is a big boy, he can handle it. I would worry more about how Naruto and Sasuke handle it. You know they have been accusing us for years of having a relationship, now they will never let us live it down." The thought of their teammates and the teasing that would be forthcoming made Sakura bury her head in Kakashi's chest with a moan.

Her antics made him chuckle deeply and he felt obliged to offer, "Maybe no will even notice. We are always together, it could take weeks and weeks before anyone else becomes aware of any real change." Sakura snorted in disagreement. "Seriously, I bet no one notices."

"You want to wager on it?" She gave him a mischievous grin. "If anyone notices, you have to give me your limited edition, signed copy of _Icha Icha_ for keeps."

Kakashi eyed her for a moment, the odds of losing raced through his mind before he decided he could risk it. He did have more than one copy after all. A sly grin slide over his face. "Ok, but, if I win you have to agree to dress up as the heroine and play out my favorite scene with me. Deal? Oh, and no giving anybody a hint or clue."

"Deal!" Sakura sealed the wager by pulling him to her and kissing him thoroughly, entwining her fingers with his. She reluctantly ended their kiss, keeping his hand in her own. "I guess we should head back now. The boys will be waiting on us soon for training." He nodded his agreement, restoring his mask to its place and followed along with her towards the village, keeping his hold on her hand as they strolled through the trees. They walked in comfortable silence, both absorbing the changes in their relationship and basking in the contentment of passion long denied that was now free to express and returned. Absorbed in their pleasant thoughts, neither of them noticed the gates until they were looming in front of them. She smiled up at him, "What reason are we going to give the guards for being outside?"

Kakashi shrugged, "Nighttime training?" He hadn't even thought about it before that moment. Both of them had a rumpled, disheveled look about them, not to mention his forehead protector was still laying on the floor of Sakura's apartment. It would be hard to explain why both of them would have left the village without the identifying markers. It was beginning to look like he might need to prepare to part with his precious book after all, especially if they ran into to many of their close acquaintances. Kakashi reluctantly released his hold on her hand and gestured for her to precede him through the gate. As Sakura reached for the sign in sheet, smiling at the guard, he realized it was the same chunin that had shown great interest in Sakura the other day. He watched the guard's stuttering attempt to engage her in conversation and quickly decided to put an end to the young pup's aspirations. Opening his closed Sharingan eye, Kakashi fixed its gaze on the young man, allowing it to slowly spin in a dangerous manner. He let his arm encircle Sakura's waist in a deliberate, possessive manner, the message clear. The would-be Romeo choked on the date request he had been about to make, visibly swallowing in discomfort at the jonin's intense glare. He quickly waved the pair through while avoiding looking directly at the pink-haired kunoichi.

Kakashi grinned largely, satisfaction at putting a damper on the chunin's interest clear on his face. "What happened to not giving hints or clues?" Sakura questioned as she turned in his hold, looking up at his smug expression that was visible even through the mask. He just shrugged again, steering her down the street that lead towards her apartment. The urge to get her indoors where they could have some privacy and lessen the chances of being seen by anyone they knew well was stronger as the streets began to fill with early risers going about their day. They were only a few blocks away and the image of Sakura dressed up and fulfilling her wager loss danced in his mind's eye and caused his groin to tighten. Sakura chuckled at Kakashi as she was practically dragged down the street. His hold on her firm as he increased their pace, his goal now within sight as her apartment building came into view. His inner self whooping with glee while his outward appearance stayed calm and relaxed. Victory was his.

"Forehead! Wait up!" The sound of Ino's voice caused Kakashi to moan out loud. He had been so close. Ino, Sakura's best girlfriend and playful rival, came running up to the couple, panting with the effort to catch up. "I have been trying to get your attention for blocks. Where were you two headed in such a hurry this morning? And, ugh, why are you so filthy?" Ino scrunched up her nose at her friend's messy appearance. "Really, Sakura, have you heard of a hairbrush? I mean, geez, I know you are workaholic but take some care…" She suddenly halted her lecture and squinted her eyes as she took in first Sakura's state, then Kakashi's own disheveled and dirty clothing. Ino stepped closer and sniffed. Realization came over her and her eyes widened to saucers, her mouth gaped open. Her hand came up to point at the two of them, words trying to form and failing. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture and Sakura just turned away from friend in a vain attempt to hide the growing blush across her face.

"Oh Pig, I would love to chat, but we are sooo late for a meeting with, uh, Tsunade. Sorry, I'll catch up with you later, ok? Bye!" Sakura grabbed Kakashi's hand and hurriedly continued down the street, leaving a stammering Ino still pointing accusingly at them as they beat a hasty retreat. They only got a block away before the sight of a green, spandex clad shinobi headed straight for them, a large grin on his face, stopped them again.

"Kakashi, my worthy rival, are you up for my newest challenge?" Gai, the Green Beast of Konoha, halted in front of the pair and struck his signature pose. "Or are you too worn out from your youthful romp with your lovely flower to face me?" Kakashi groaned, reached into his back pocket and slapped his beloved book into Sakura's outstretched palm. Her gleeful expression as she pocketed her prize made him roll his eyes and slump his shoulders. He knew when to concede defeat but he didn't have to like it. Visions of Sakura in a skimpy kimono flittered away from his imagination at his loss.

"Sorry, Gai. I'm late for something. Maybe later." Kakashi mumbled to his friend as he dragged Sakura around the posing ninja to hurry towards the safety of her apartment building just a hundred yards down the street.

"Sure, sure, my ardent rival. What is a little competition in the face of such youthful passions? I bow in defeat to love's fervent call." Kakashi waved a hand over his shoulder, wincing at the sight of Gai's wide, knowing grin. They reached the steps of the building, both red faced. Their happy stroll through the village had turned into a kind of walk of shame. Relief at finally reaching the goal of the embarrassing gauntlet they had just been through displayed across their faces. Kakashi put one arm around Sakura's waist and reached for the doorknob with the other.

"OH MY GOD! Y'ALL HAD SEX!" The shouted accusation from behind the couple made Sakura stiffen and froze Kakashi's hand in midair. They slowly turned to face their accuser. Naruto, disbelief scrunching up his face and finger pointing at the pair, stood at the bottom of the stairs, Sasuke beside him giving them a knowing smirk.

"Damnit Naruto, if you don't shut up," Sakura threatened, gathering chakra in her hand, "I will break your jaw!" She started down the steps, raising her fist to teach her loud-mouthed teammate a lesson in keeping his voice down, but Kakashi grabbed her around her waist and quickly picked her up, carrying the irate kunoichi into the building. Retreat seemed like the smartest course of action at this time.

Naruto was still standing at the foot of the stairs, staring at the door that had slammed in the wake of his teammates. "Pay up, dobe" Sasuke said, hand outstretched, palm up. Naruto grumbled as he reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, slapped a stack of bills into the waiting hand, and stomped off in the direction of the training grounds. Sasuke laughed at his friend's mumblings and, sparing a quick glance towards the closed door of Sakura's apartment building, followed him down the street, stuffing his winnings into his pocket.


	8. Chapter 8

So sorry that I made everyone wait for this chapter after promising it sooner. Thank you again to all of you still reading this story. A special thanks to Leomae2.0 for lighting a fire under my butt and reminding me that there are readers out there that want to know what happens next. It's time to shake these guys up don't you think? I welcome thoughts and suggestions, so please review and let me know what you think so far.

Chapter 8

Alone at last in Sakura's apartment, the lovers collapsed on the couch. Who knew just a walk from the village gates could be so exhausting. Kakashi pulled his mask down off his face and breathed in deeply. Sakura, still fuming from Naruto's rather loud announcement of her and Kakashi's recent activities, sat with her teeth and fists clenched in rage. Kakashi tried to feel some of her anxiety, but found that he didn't really care who knew about the change in their relationship. Oddly enough, it pleased him to think the news was spreading as they sat there in silence. At least it saved him the trouble of running off potential suiters, because, who was going to go up against the Copy Ninja for her affections? He eased his arm around her shoulders, pulling her next to him and placing a calming kiss on her hair. The tension in her body beginning to fade as he continued the light kisses gently down the side of her face and onto her jawline. She let out a sigh and snuggled closer, tilting her head back onto the back of the sofa, exposing her neck to his tender ministrations. Kakashi pulled her into his lap while increasing the pressure of his kisses down her neck, interchanging pecks with nibbles. His mouth traveled to her collarbone as his hands made their way down her body to slip under the hem of her dress before easing the fabric up past her naked hips. He paused his kisses long enough to pull the dress over her head, leaving her completely naked in his embrace. Her panties were still in his pocket and her bra lay somewhere on the forest floor. His eyes roamed over her body in appreciation – she really was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His lips met hers, conveying all his love and passion for her with the fever of his kiss.

Kakashi took a firm grip on her hips, rubbing her against him in a rocking motion. He worshiped her body with his lips, showing her his passion in the only way he knew how. All their years at each other's side, always limited in the love they could show, now displayed in the need that both felt in this moment. They had to make up for time lost. Sakura pulled Kakashi's shirt off in a quick motion, eager to touch him in the ways she had never been able to before. All of the responsibilities, duties, and commitments fell away from both of their shoulders as the feelings that they have for each other became all-encompassing and the only thing important.

Kakashi pulled away for a breath and then laid Sakura on to the sofa. Standing up, he pulled his pants off with haste and crawl up her body until he was resting in between her legs. He kissed her deeply while he positioned himself to enter her. She needed no more coaxing and arched her hips to drive him home. Gasps escaped from both of them at the intense emotional and physical pleasure. Kakashi couldn't keep his pace slow or loving, his need was too great. He pounded into her willing flesh over and over until they both exploded with cries of fulfilment. Holding Sakura close to him, Kakashi struggled to catch his breath, his heart was clenching tight with emotions. She was all he had ever wanted for himself. The only thing he needed for true happiness after a lifetime of grief and violence. In his mind, he repeated the promise to hold her to him for all times and never let anything tear apart their newfound happiness. Exhaustion and contentment fell over the two lovers like a thick blanket and they fell asleep, naked bodies wrapped around each other.

The angle of the sunlight steaming through the windows spoke to the time that had past while Kakashi and Sakura slept. The late afternoon casting shadows across the floor. A loud knocking suddenly broke the peace of the small apartment. Sakura detangled from Kakashi's arms, rubbing her hands over her face. The loss of her warmth causing Kakashi to also awaken. The banging on the door forcing him off the couch in search of his pants. Awareness of her own unclothed state sent Sakura bolting for her bedroom for clothes leaving him to deal with whoever was at the door. The scene in the bedroom reminded her of the argument that had set things in motion. Parts of the broken lamp still jutted out of the wall, but she ignored that mess and focused on the strip of leather and metal that was crumpled in the corner. She walked over and retrieved it from the floor, running her fingers over the metal. It was a symbol of Kakashi's devotion and commitment to their home but it had meant nothing in the face of losing her. At that moment, any fears she had about his feelings not matching the depth of her own were gone and replaced with a determination to protect their relationship and love at all costs.

A soft sound at the doorway of her bedroom alerted Sakura to Kakashi's presence. "We've been summoned to the Hokage's office. Since I doubt Tsunade will appreciate me showing up smelling of our activities last night, I'm going to pop into my apartment to shower and change. I will meet you there, ok?" Kakashi wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to place his forehead against Sakura's. She turned into his embrace, absorbing his warmth for a moment before kissing him lightly on his mask covered lips. She reached up and secured his forehead protector in its place over his Sharingan eye.

"Go, I will meet your there." Kakashi took a moment to scan her face and, having seen what he needed, he nodded to her and crossed the room to the window. "Kakashi," Sakura spoke softly, "I love you."

"I love you, too" His eye crinkled as he smiled beneath his mask and then he was gone.

Sakura quickly cleaned up the mess they had made during their argument the night before and jumped in the shower. The hot water eased the small aches and pains from sleeping in the cold woods. Refreshed and energized, she got dressed and hurried from her apartment towards the Hokage's tower, sticking to the roofs to avoid any friends or busy-bodies that might have questions about her and Kakashi's activities from the night before. Despite the trouble they were likely facing from the Hokage and the council, Sakura's heart remained light and happy. Things had changed swiftly after years of suppressed feelings. It was enough to set anybody's head into a tizzy of swirling emotions. She arrived at the doors of Tsunade's office and checked in with Shizune, Tsunade's assistant and Sakura's "sister". Shizune hopped up from her place behind the desk and scrambled over to Sakura, hissing in her ear, "What did you two do to get her so riled up today?"

Sakura blinked at the question before shrugging in dismissal. "I don't know what you mean, Shizune. I take it she is in a bad mood today."

"Let's just say that I had to give up one of our best sake hiding place this morning." Shizune eyed her "little sister" with a knowing smirk on her face. "However, you look like pretty blissful this morning. Did something good happen?"

Sakura's face broke into a wide grin, "Something wonderful." She knocked on the door to the Hokage's office and was quickly granted permission to enter. With a small grin and wave to Shizune, Sakura entered her shisou's office.

"Close the door, Sakura." Tsunade tone clearly stated her irritation. She was hunched over a pile of paperwork, pen furiously scribbling on the document on top. She completed the paper in front of her and slammed down her pen on the pile and shoved it aside. Her hands met in front of her face and her eyes whipped up to zero in on the kunoichi in front of her desk. A heavy sigh escaped Tsunade's lips. "Do you have any idea the trouble that you and Kakashi have caused me this morning?" Sakura opened her mouth to respond, but Tsunade held a hand up, quickly indicating for her to keep silent. "It took me an hour to calm down that idiotic neighbor of yours. Says he is too afraid to live next door to such 'dangerous shinobi' after a lamp broke through his wall. The village is having to foot the expense for him to move."

"I'm sorry, Shisou. I will of course apologize…"

"I have also been informed that you and Kakashi left the village last night without permission and didn't return until this morning. Do you mind filling me in on what was so important that you both ignored rules and put yourselves in danger to accomplish outside the walls, at night?"

Sakura began to squirm under her adopted mother's intense, questioning glare. "Well, Shisou, I guess you could say we had unresolved issues that needed some privacy to work through."

"Are these 'issues' going to cause me any problems, Sakura?"

"I hope not, Shisou. However, I will be officially turning down Suna no Gaara's proposal." Tsunade leaned back in her chair with a heavy sigh and began to rub her throbbing temples. She reached for the nearby sake bottle, poured herself a healthy portion, and downed it in a flash before returning her gaze at her adopted daughter's stubborn and set expression. Sakura's face said that there would be no changing her mind on this subject.

"I can't say I'm surprised at your decision and frankly, I support it. But, the council will not be pleased. They are going want an explanation." Tsunade's eyes softened. "I only want your happiness, Sakura. If Hatake makes you happy then so be it. I will handle those old asses on the council."

"Thank you, Shisou", Sakura choked out past the lump in her throat. Tsunade's approval meant more to her than she could begin to express. Tears welled up in both women's eyes for a moment before the elder cleared her throat. Looking away from her daughter, Tsunade rifled around in the paperwork scattered over her desk until she located a certain scroll. She held it out to Sakura.

"I have a mission for you that may cause some issues of its own. Suna has officially requested you to oversee their new medical school opening. You and two others will be teaching the first class of medical shinobi for the Sand. The mission will take three months, maybe longer, depending on how quickly the material can be learned." Sakura said nothing as she scanned the mission scroll. Boy, was Kakashi going to be pissed.

"Yo" Kakashi appeared with a puff of smoke. Another one of his precious books held in front of his face as he waved to the two women. He moved to stand right next to the pink-haired kunoichi. His position and stance showing his possessiveness.

 _'Speak of the devil'_ Sakura thought to herself with a quick eye roll.

"I'll get to you, Hatake." Tsunade's glare pierced the silver-haired jonin before moving back to her apprentice, "You, Ino, and Hinata will be expected to report to the Kazekage in one week's time. Prepare lesson plans and review the approved medical jutsu that the Leaf will be sharing with the Sand. I will expect a copy of your curriculum on my desk before you depart. Dismissed." Sakura opened her mouth, but thinking better of it, closed it with a snap. She spared a glance at her lover's stiff, anger posture before bowing to the Hokage and beating a hasty retreat. Time enough to explain to Kakashi later, out from under the scrutiny of her teacher.

The click of the door sounded like a gunshot in the silence. Kakashi had turned to watch Sakura leave. Anger radiated off his wiry frame in waves and he returned his attention to his leader. "Suna? You are sending her to the Sand? Right into the arms of the Kazekage", Kakashi forced through gritted teeth.

"Are you questioning my decisions, Hatake?" He let silence answer for him. Tsuande stiffened in indignation, "Sakura will go to Sand for the opening of the medical school there. I will not ruin relations between our Hidden Villages because of your jealousy. As for the marriage proposal from Gaara, that has always been up to Sakura to accept or decline and she has chosen to reject his offer at this time." Kakashi still said nothing but his uptight posture relaxed at Tsuande's words. He couldn't help the relief that swept through him at the knowledge Sakura had made her rejection of the political marriage clear to her shisou, but still, three months was a long time for the Sand shinobi to try and change her mind. The thought made uneasiness ripple through his gut and made the chakra in his gut swirl in displeasure.

"What I really want to know right now, Hatake, is what the hell is going on with you." Tsuande speared him with an intense look. "Tell me about this foreign chakra you are hiding and how you managed to damage so much of the forest with it last night."


	9. Chapter 9

Hello Readers! After days of writer's block, this chapter is finally out. I think we need to learn more about Kakashi's new chakra in this chapter. As always, reviews and suggestions are welcome. Thanks to all for following along. I'm trying to get out new chapters quicker than the last two. On with the show….

Chapter 9

Kakashi just stared at Tsunade for several minutes. He should have known the Hokage would start to learn about this secret after he had lost control a few times. Nothing much got past her in this village. Denial, he will go with denial. "I have no idea what you mean."

"Don't bullshit me, Kakashi! " Tsunade yelled at the jonin. She reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out a stack of mission reports. "Sentry report #5632 states that last night, conveniently at the time you and Sakura were missing from the village, a tornado-like burst of chakra was witnessed just outside the walls. The structure was reported to be composed of mist or fog infused with blue, lightning."

"I don't remember seeing anything like that."

Tsunade ignored his statement as she flipped to another report in her stack. "Mission report #622495-B, summary by Haruno Sakura states that on your last mission she observed, and I quote, 'a form of wild chakra consisting of a mist-like fog with a blue electricity' and she believed it showed some free will or consciousness."

Kakashi cleared his throat, "I wasn't in the cave at the time because I was setting up a perimeter. I didn't witness any form."

Tsunade read another report, dismissing his denial, "Mission report #615965-B seduction/assassination, summary by Haruno Sakura and again I quote, 'Mission leader Hatake Kakashi entered the room through a window, covered with a foreign chakra that consisted of a blue lightening and…" Kakashi turned to leave out the door. He didn't want to hear this again. "STOP RIGHT THERE HATAKE!" The order froze him with his hand gripping the door handle with white knuckles. She continued mercilessly, "AND proceeded to first rip the target's arms from his torso before removing his head with bare hands. Should I continue or are you going to explain, Hatake?"

Kakashi took a deep, calming breath and slowly turned to face his Hokage. "It was always our objective to kill the target and we didn't fail, so what's the problem?"

Tsunade snorted and gave him a disgusted look, "It was supposed to look natural and there is nothing natural about the guy ending up in pieces in his blood splattered bedroom, Hatake."

He returned her look with an expression that screamed his unapologetic attitude. "That man was going to rape her. I would never allow that," Kakashi said in a quiet, angry tone. The core of chakra had begun to flare and swirl in anger after being so calm. It sent trails of electricity through his own chakra network. He needed to get out of the Hokage's office before he couldn't control it.

"Sakura is a kunoichi, she will do what has to be done to complete her mission. Did you forget that?" Tsunade's glare seemed to penetrate right through him. Her easy acceptance with Sakura's near rape further loosen his containment of the raw power, making it surge throughout his body.

 _'No! I won't let her be hurt!'_ The voice in Kakashi's head screamed. It sounded different inside his mind, an altered version of his normal inner monologue. The pain in his chest increased and threatened to put him on his knees. It was a struggle to hold back the urge to strike out at the indifference to Sakura's possible pain. "I can't accept that sexual assault was an acceptable outcome to that mission. Not when it could be prevented. How could anyone that loves her, hide and listen while that happened?" Kakashi let his anger and frustration come through in his low,dangerous tone.

Tsuande slowly rose from her seat, shock clear on her face. "Kakashi, what has happened to you?" Without taking her eyes off the jonin's face, she reached into a drawer, pulled out a hand mirror, and rounded her desk to stand directly in front of the fuming jonin. Her free hand lifted to his face and slowly slide his forehead protector up and off his Sharingan eye. A gasp escaped her mouth and her brow wrinkled in worry. "Do you want to explain?"

Kakashi, stunned at the Hokage's actions, just stared at her in confusion. Finally, he muttered, "I don't know what you are talking about, Hokage-sama."

"I'm talking about this." With that, she brought the mirror up in front of his face. It took a moment for him to process the image in the reflective surface. His hands came up on their own accord, one to wrest the mirror from her hand and one to touch his own face, as if to prove the reflection was actually his own. There was Obito's eye, only different. Instead of a field of red, the black blades of the Sharingan spun on a backdrop of electric blue, in BOTH eyes. The shock caused the chakra to retreat, along with his anger. Suddenly, Kakashi was staring at the familiar sight of his own grey orb, as well as the inky, darkness of what was once his friend's eye, without the ever present Sharingan. He stumbled back, dropping the mirror to the ground. Confused and dazed, Kakashi felt the urge to escape and began the jutsu to flee, but Tsunade was ready for him and grabbed both his hands with her unnatural strength. "No, Kakashi. Something is changing you and I need to know what's happening." She sent her chakra into his body to scan him. Her eyes closed as she concentrated. The wild force inside him flared up at the intrusion and pushed her out. Her lids shot open at the power of it. "Where did this chakra come from? It's not your natural life-force."

Kakashi bowed his head and stopped trying to pull away from her grip. "I really don't know. I have been carrying it for as long as I can recall. When I first really noticed it, I placed a barrier around it to contain it. That seemed to work until…"

"Until?" Tsunade gently urged him to continue.

A blush spread out from the cover of his mask. He pulled away from her and walked to the window to gaze out at the village. A flash of pink hair in the crowd below made a sigh escape his lips. He said nothing else until the flash of color moved out of his view. "Until certain feelings I have been carrying got to be… too intense to be contained."

"Feelings? For Sakura?" Tsuande had moved to stand at his side to peer out the window, her gaze on the area that her daughter had disappeared in the crowd. Kakashi said nothing, only nodded to acknowledge her question. "How does this connect to her?"

He shrugged, "It seems to like her. Maybe it is just reacting to my own thoughts, I am not sure. What I do know is that it seems to want to be near her just as much as I do."

"It?"

Kakashi hesitated for a moment. Never one to talk about himself, opening up about such a deep secret was extremely difficult, however this whole mess had become somewhat out of control. He needed to understand what was happening to him. "It has been acting…aware."

Tsunade didn't try to hide her astonishment, "An aware, wild chakra? Like a tailed-beast?" He did not answer her because he had no answer to her question. She walked away from the window and set down heavily in her chair. Her face was slack as she tried to process what she was hearing. After a moment, she hardened her features and raised her gaze to meet his. "I am taking you off the mission rooster until we can figure out what is going on. I need to do some research and I will get back to you, but for now I want you close. Inform me of any changes and say nothing about this to Sakura. She leaves in the morning for the Sand and I don't want her worrying without cause." The reminder of Sakura's immediate departure made Kakashi's temper and chakra flare, activating both his eyes with the altered Sharingan again. "Watch yourself, Hatake" She snapped at him, "At least we know you can activate your eyes. Practice turning them on and off and monitor if there are changes in how the Sharingan works for you. Dismissed, and send in Shizune on your way out."

"Yes, Hokage-sama" Kakashi made a small bow and left the office. Once the door had closed behind him, He pulled out his book and held it in front of his face. His thoughts in such turmoil that he felt the need for more than just his mask to hide away from everybody. He made a gesture to Shizune, seated at her desk, that made it clear she was needed and left the Hokage tower with haste.

Shizune got up from her work and hurried into the Hokage's office. Opening the door and quietly closing it behind her, she was met with sight of her boss pulling another sake bottle from some unknown location. Shizune rolled her eyes in mock disgust, "Where did you get that?"

"No time for lectures today, my friend. We have serious work to do." Tsunade took a moment to take a few gulps of alcoholic courage, straight from the bottle.

Shizune realized that her teacher was truly troubled. Worry creased her brow and she asked, "What can I do, Hokage-sama?"

Tsuande slammed the bottle down and straighten her frame, determination on her face. No problem was unfixable, and maybe, just maybe, this could be turned into a positive. "Shizune, bring me every file on Hatake Kakashi. I mean _every_ file. Especially medical, I know, I know" Tsunade put her hand up when Shizune opened her mouth to interject, "I know there aren't many of those. Get Sakura's notes, she's his doctor unofficially." Then a thought came to her, "And get his families' records as well. Medical, family histories, clan files… Everything we can get our hands on."

Shizune thought about the list for a moment. "I think there are clan records in the office of the old Hatake estate. Everything else I can pull from the archives here."

"Whatever you need to do. Bring everything to my office. We have a mystery to solve." Shizune nodded to the Hokage and turned to get to her task but stopped when Tsuande called her name. At the beckoning motion from her boss, she walked to edge of the desk. The blonde leader of the village reached into a pocket and pulled out her wallet. She extracted a few bills and stuck them out to Shizune, "You were right, he did have a thing for Sakura." A grin grew across the younger woman's face as she snatched the money, counting it as she exited the office.

Kakashi left the Hokage Building with no particular destination in mind. He just needed to clear his head. He kept his gaze on his trusty book, his forehead protector back in place, slung low to cover his left eye. He wondered around aimless until he ended up at Sakura's apartment. She must have felt him standing there because she opened the door without him having to knock. They just looked at each other for a minute before a gentle smile spread across her face. Understanding between them meant words were unnecessary. Sakura reached out to Kakashi and pulled him into apartment, closing the door behind them. Her arms wrapped around him and she laid her head on his chest. With a shuddering breath, he grabbed her up in a tight embrace, returning her affection. They stayed like that for an uncounted amount of time before she picked up her head and pulled free from him. She reached for his hand and, saying not one word, led him to the bedroom.

Sakura halted next to bed and turned to face him. Looking into his uncovered eye, she grabbed the bottom of his shirt and tugged it over his head. She followed with his undershirt with mask. Reaching up slowly, she removed his forehead protector. Her brows raised up in a questioning way when she saw the change in his left eye but held her query for a later time. She just gazed intently at both orbs for a moment, placing her hands on both sides of his face.

Kakashi stared at her beautiful features as if he was memorizing every pore. He wanted to activate his Sharingan to imprint the vision into his memory, but he didn't want to worry her with all the changes that he had no explanation for. He was suddenly overcome with the need to hold her body close to him. To feel her pulse through the contact of her skin to his. He pulled her shirt off, followed quickly by her shorts. Kakashi kicked off his own shoes and shed his pants in haste. Picking Sakura up bridal style, he strode the few steps to the bed and laid her down. He slide in next to her and gathered her close to him. Sakura curled into his chest and tangled their legs together. With a free hand, she pulled the thin blanket at the foot of the bed over their bodies and settled up against his naked chest. Kakashi buried his nose into her pink locks, inhaling her scent. With a long, contented exhale, He let himself drift off to sleep, absorbing her warmth. Sakura followed suit, a small smile on her lips.

The first light of dawn shining through a slit in the curtains woke Kakashi the next morning. Sakura was no longer beside him but the smell of cooking from the other room let him know that she was close by. He rose from the bed and grabbed his pants off the floor. After pulling them on, he grabbed his shirts and carried them into the kitchen. Sakura turned from the stove where breakfast was cooking to smile up at him. "Food's ready. Sit at the table, I have already made you a cup of coffee." Kakashi grinned back at her before pulling his undershirt over his head, the mask loose around his neck. He sat at the small table and reached for the steaming cup in front of him. Sakura was busy putting eggs and rice on plates, so he looked around the room while sipping the warm liquid. He spied her travel pack, full and ready by the front door. For a happy moment, he had forgotten she was leaving, but now that disturbing fact came back to wreck his temporary peace.

As Sakura placed the full plates on the table and took her seat, Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture, "Listen, Sakura…about this trip to Suna, I…"

"There is nothing in Suna for me, Kakashi. Everything I want or need is right here." She reached across the table and grasped his hand in hers. "I have already informed all parties involved that, while I look forward to helping our allies get their medical program in order, I have no desire to enter into a political marriage. Besides," she looked up at his handsome face and smiled, "my affections are engaged elsewhere."

Kakashi searched her face, looking for the sincerity of her words, and finding truth in her steady, loving gaze. Tension that he didn't even know he had, relaxed away and he returned her grip on his fingers with a squeeze of his own. He nodded his understanding, no more words were needed between them. In silence, they ate their breakfast, hands clutched together the whole meal.

An hour later, Kakashi walked Sakura to the gates of the village. They stopped a short distance away, out of earshot of the guards on duty. Kakashi slung her backpack off of his shoulder and set it on the ground next to them. He placed his hands on her waist and spun her around and into his arms. With one hand, he pulled down his mask and leaned down, placing his lips to hers. A happy sigh escaped her mouth and he deepened the kiss, uncaring about eager, prying eyes watching their display of affection. Her hands slide up into his hair and she brought him closer to her. He tightened his grip around her. Intense emotion swelled up in his chest and the chakra inside him seemed to sing throughout his body. Pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat, it flowed through the pathways of his limbs. A faint mist rose from his skin and swirled in delicate circles around their entwined figures.

Sakura ended the kiss and pulled back just enough to peer up at his uncovered face. "Kakashi, I will come home to you soon."

He reached up to lay his palm along her cheek and she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes to hide the moisture collecting there. "Every moment away from you is a trial for my very soul" he said, his voice rough with emotion. "I love you."

Her emerald orbs, glistening with unshed tears, opened to take in his loving expression. She rose up on her toes to place a light kiss on his lips. "I love you, too" She removed her hands from his hair and reached down to grab her bag. With one more lingering look upon his face, she slung the backpack in place and turned to leap out through the gate. A pale, wispy mist trailed behind her as she disappeared into the trees.

Kakashi stood there for a long time after she faded from view. Finally, without a sound, he pulled his mask back into place and began to walk with no destination in mind. Home was suddenly a very lonely place.


	10. Chapter 10

I hope everyone liked that last chapter. I know I took too much time off from writing this story, but I'm back now. Rest assured that I will not abandon this tale, besides, it's about to get good. Please review, feedback is great. On with the story…

Chapter 10

"Kakashi, I… I'm not sure where to begin" Sakura's eyes drifted down to her nervously shuffling feet. Her whole body tight with discomfort. Kakashi's heart sank and his chest tightened with worry.

He coughed to clear the lump in his throat enough to speak, "You know you can speak your mind to me, always." Even though feelings of fear and impending loss was wrapping bands of steel around his chest, making breathing difficult, Kakashi kept his expression stoic and neutral.

Sakura rallied her nerves and met his gaze head-on. "I'm sorry, Kakashi, but I have decided that it is in the best interest of the village if I accept Gaara's proposal." Kakashi blinked a few times, silent while his brain processed her devastating words. She stood still as a rock while waiting for his response.

Another voice broke through the tension of the moment, "It is in the best interest of BOTH of our villages." The red-haired Kazekage spoke as he moved to Sakura's side, putting a supportive arm around her shoulders and grasping both of her tiny hands in his large, capable one. Her gaze flickered to their entwined hands and then to Gaara's face before both looked back to where Kakashi still stood in complete silence.

"…no…," Kakashi closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth in a negative gesture, backing away from the couple slowly. Agony and disbelief began to give way to rage and pain. Anger strengthen his voice, "NO!" Sakura and Gaara jumped in surprise at the venom in his denial. Kakashi's eyes snapped open again and this time they weren't warm grey and black, but glowing electric blue with the altered Sharingan. The air around his body filled with swirling dark mist and began to lash around the room, causing all of their hair to whip around in the turbulent wind. The wild chakra rose up from its resting spot, filling Kakashi's body with unrestrained energy. It broke out through his skin and filled the entire surrounding space with bursts of electricity. The flashes of blue lightening reached out with killing intent towards the cause of pain to its host, striking first Gaara and then Sakura repeatedly. The Kazekage's sand shielded him somewhat, able to stop about half of the strikes coming from all around him, but Sakura was not so lucky and fell to the ground under the onslaught. Her body curled into a defensive position. Kakashi, seeing the damage he was causing to the woman he loved, struggled to control his rage and the outward manifestation of it.

"Kakashi, please….please stop," Sakura said weakly, reaching a hand toward the silver-haired shinobi who was standing with clenched fists in the heart of the furious storm of wind, mist, and energy. Lightening continued to lash out, striking her fragile body over and over with increased intensity. Trails of dark, red blood began to drip from her nose, mouth, and eyes, creating a gruesome facsimile of a cold, painted ANBU mask. Kakashi fell to his knees, a cry of despair escaping his open mouth. He raised his hands toward her in a vain attempt to grab hold of Sakura, but she seemed to be farther and farther from his reach. "Kakashi…stop!" Her voice deeper and harsher in her plea. The winds of chakra drowned out all other noise with its howls and stung flesh with its crackling electricity. It was in this moment, Kakashi realized that she would die, by his own hand. He screamed in anguish as he lost sight of her in the maelstrom of grey mist.

"KAKASHI, YOU HAVE TO STOP!" The harsh command, followed by a sharp sting of teeth on his left hand, brought Kakashi upright in his bed, the scream trailed off in the quiet of his bedroom and was replaced by the sound of his deep, gasping breaths. "Kakashi, get rid of this mist. It stings!" Swirling tomoes on fields of electric blue focused on the worried face of his closest ninken, Pakkun. The ninken's words broke through the fog in Kakashi's mind and after flickering his gaze around in assessment, he realized that the room was thick with an angry, grey fog, sparking with tiny bolts of lightning. With a final, shuddering gulp of air, Kakashi closed his eyes and focused on drawing the wild chakra back into its home deep inside his chest. Satisfied with his master's return of control, Pakkun huffed in mock irritation, "Had to bite you to wake you up this time. I've got to say Kakashi, it's getting old being woke up by electric shock to the ass." With a mumbled apology, Kakashi rubbed the dog's head in a comforting gesture to prove he had no hard feelings about the harsh wakeup method.

The image of Sakura's blood-streaked face flashed into his mind's eye and the intense emotions from the nightmare settled heavily upon his shoulders, causing them to bow under the weight. For the first time in decades, Kakashi, the powerful Copy-nin of Konoha, covered his face with his hands and wept loud sobs of despair.

Several hours later, after a hot shower and a quick meal, Kakashi had fallen back into his daily routine. In the eight weeks that Sakura had been gone, his life followed a loose pattern of monotony. Forbidden from leaving the village by his Hokage, Kakashi was limited to entertainment inside the walls of home. He read through all of his favorite books for the hundredth time, trained by himself to better control his new found chakra and altered Sharingan, and hung out with whatever friends were available. If Gai questioned why Kakashi was suddenly agreeable to all of his challenges, he never asked out loud. Just as Naruto and Sasuke never questioned why Kakashi was available to eat Ramen with them every day or why he would even pay sometimes. They all seemed to know that under their friend's normal lazy, unconcerned attitude, lie a deep loneliness. So they communicated their knowledge with pointed looks sent behind the back of their silver-haired friend.

On this day, Kakashi had accepted a spar challenge from his green clad buddy and they had met on a secluded training ground to train. Gai had been informed somewhat on the changes that Kakashi was going through and used the sparing match as a chance to help his jonin friend practice control of the new chakra. In this, Kakashi had begun to show a great deal of success. He might not be able to control his dreams, but he could now call the mist with only his thoughts and was able to pull it back on demand. He had begun to think of the wild chakra as a silent partner of sorts, one that still, sometimes, wanted to do its own thing but for the most part 'followed orders'. Tsunade would occasionally watch these practice sessions and after witnessing Kakashi's new control, would nod in approval before returning to her research. Today, however, it was just the two men, engaged in a vigorous battle of taijutsu and good natured insults about each other's 'youthful vigor' or lack thereof. After a few hours, they threw their hands up in mutual surrender, the prize of a paid lunch falling to both equally. They left the scarred training field and headed to Naruto's favorite ramen stall. The blond jinchuriki was already seated on his favorite stool, arguing with his Uchiha teammate. Upon the senior jonins' entrance, Naruto stopped his argument mid-sentence in order to loudly greet his former sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, you made it! I don't suppose I can talk you into paying today? This asshole won't loan me any money and I am still waiting on my mission pay from yesterday." He shot a dirty look at his dark-haired companion who was ignoring him in favor of calmly slurping a hot bowl of noodles. Kakashi chuckled at the two young men but made no move to agree to Naruto's request. Instead, he sat on a stool and ordered a bowl for himself. The blonde, grumbling about being cursed with stingy teammates, returned to his own seat and went back to loudly consuming his own lunch.

Just as the waitress set Kakashi's bowl in front of him with a smile, sounds of commotion filtered in through the open entranceway of the food stall. A foreign shinobi, flanked by two Leaf shinobi, rushed down the street, heading towards the Hokage Tower. Kakashi turned back to his food, pushing down his curiosity in favor of ramen, but the flare of wild chakra in his chest brought a strong sense of unease that killed his appetite. Images of a bleeding Sakura from his nightmare caused him to push the bowl farther away and towards Naruto, who with wide-eyes and a huge grin, accepted the unexpected gift. Every moment that ticked by seemed to increase the feeling of dread. A faint mist rose off Kakashi and floated away, searching out for something that the man, himself was not aware of yet. He stood up abruptly, determined to follow the flow of his power to the source of the discomfort, but he was stopped at the entrance by an ANBU shinobi blocking his path.

"Hatake-san, you and your team are required by the Hokage immediately." The order given, the masked shinobi disappeared as quickly as he came. Without a word, Naruto and Sasuke abandoned their lunches to follow Kakashi out of the ramen stall and in the direction of the Hokage Tower. After a sigh of worry, Might Gai reached for his wallet and after paying for all of their food, headed out onto the street to seek out his own team. The jonin had a bad feeling that they might be needed for whatever emergency had called his companions away from lunch.

Kakashi was immediately aware of the serious vibe heavy in the air of the Hokage's office. Shizune was healing the foreign shinobi slumped against the wall, panting in an effort to catch his breath. The shinobi, who Kakashi now could see was from the Sand, had obviously ran to the village at full speed and suffered injuries in the process. Tsunade was by the window giving whispered orders to an ANBU team before waving them off on their mission. The worry on her face aged her, despite the youth jutsu she always employed. She looked over at the Sand ninja and barked at him, "Repeat your report to Hatake-san."

The foreign shinobi removed Shizune hand from his arm and struggled up onto his feet. He made a respectful bow to Tsunade and turned to face the members of Team 7, focusing primarily on Kakashi as the leader. With one more deep breath to gain back his wind, he repeated the message he had given the Hokage.

"I was accompanying the Kazekage, along with an unconscious Leaf shinobi, to Konoha for emergency medical treatment and, no, I don't know the nature of treatment required or the cause of injury. Twenty miles outside the walls of the village, we were intercepted by an overwhelming force of unknown shinobi who we believe are after the medic. The Kazekage sent me ahead to request immediate assistance."

Sasuke was the first of the shocked Leaf nins to speak, "How many enemies did you observe?"

"At least fifty were still alive when I left to get help. Six followed me and they are now dead."

Fear exploded in Kakashi's chest and the wild chakra, which was already churning from before, burst out of its confinement, surging into his limbs and flaring his eyes to life. _'Sakura is in danger!'_ The mist rose all around him and began the familiar tornado around the Copy-Nin.

Tsuande placed a hand on his arm to get his attention, "Please go bring back my daughter, Kakashi" The tears in her eyes and the frightened quiver in her voice said more about the seriousness of the situation than any words could have. He looked right into her anguished expression and nodded. He then shifted his gaze to the nearest window and with a purposeful surge of power, blew the glass out of its frame, raining shards to the ground below, and with the blink of an eye, was gone from the room, leaving only a swirl of fog and some electric sparks in his wake.

With a bow to the Hokage, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki and the last Uchiha followed their leader at full power out the broken window. Tsuande moved to grip the sill, ignoring the cuts on her hands from the shattered glass, and stared out across the village. Her eyes followed the trail of grey fog that lead out beyond the walls and towards the unknown dangers. Quietly she whispered, "Good luck and bring her back." She closed her eyes as two tears rolled down each of her cheeks.


	11. Chapter 11

Hope everyone liked the last chapter. This came out a little shorter than I would have liked but it had a clear break, so it couldn't be helped. The story is (hopefully) getting really exciting now. I do my best to find and correct mistakes myself, I don't have a beta. Let me know if you think I really need one. Reviews are always welcome. On with the story…

Chapter 11

Trees rushed by in a blur as Naruto and Sasuke flew along the forest canopy, chasing after the trail of their leader. Both shinobi trusted that Kakashi somehow knew the direction they needed to be headed in. The path of boiling, dark fog clearly marked the way, and even without such a clear indicator, they would have been able to follow the tunnel of damage and limb breakage left behind by Kakashi's inflated chakra.

As they neared a break in the trees, near a long, grassy valley, the two shinobi were blasted with a wave of chakra coming from ahead of them. They dropped down to continue their run on the forest floor where footing was more stable. The scene that met them at the edge of valley brought them to a standstill.

At the far end of the open area, Gaara was surrounded by dozens of attackers, using his sand to fend off attacks while protecting an unconscious Sakura at his feet. Vastly outnumbered, it was obvious defense was his best option. The enemy nin were trying to lure him away from his charge by goading Gaara into attacking by striking and then quickly retreating out of his sand reach. However, the Kazekage wasn't falling for it and chose to keep his sand in the Ultimate Defense position, clearly intent on holding out until help arrived.

Only about fifty yards from where Naruto and Sasuke had broken through the trees, Kakashi stood still, positioned at the base of a massive cloud of the darkest fog they had ever seen. His focus clearly on the flashes of pink that would peek out in the breaks of Gaara's Ultimate Defense. Suddenly, Kakashi let his head fall back and he let out a long, inhuman howl of rage to sky. The sound reverberated across the valley, freezing some of the enemy in their tracks. The cloud of grey mist churned in response and then thicken and spread. It twisted itself into a form; a huge, grey wolf-like creature with Kakashi positioned in between its front legs. The beast picked up its head and added its voice to that of its master, howling its own rage into the darkening sky. Naruto felt the Nine-Tails inside him respond with a screaming roar of sympathy. He placed a hand over his chest in a gesture of comfort to the Kyubi, but it didn't stop the beast's chakra from flaring up to leak out of its vessel. He spared a glance over at Sasuke and saw the Uchiha with a similar look of disbelief on his normally stoic face.

The howl of Kakashi and his wolf trailed off, but the sound could still be heard echoing across the valley. Now all of the enemy shinobi were frozen and facing the horror of Kakashi and his beast. The wolf's eyes were now trained on them, eyes that were the brilliant, electric blue, the same as its master. Kakashi began to take heavy, angry steps across the field towards the spot where Sakura lay unmoving on the ground. With a sharp motion towards the enemy with his hand, he commanded his beast to engage the enemy and immediately the wolf form bounded across the grass, snatching up the now panicked, fleeing shinobi. It grabbed up two and three at a time in its mouth, shaking its head side to side, ripping bodies to pieces before dropping them to the ground to grab more.

Gaara took advantage of the chaos to pick up the pink-haired medic and race to where the Leaf shinobi stood at the edge of the forest. Blood and flesh rained down over his path as the rampage of the beast continued all around him, but Gaara charged right through, dodging the larger pieces. The screams of the enemy were deafening in his ears. He didn't stop until he was only ten feet from Kakashi. The twisted look on the enraged Copy-Nin's face softened at the sight of the medic curled in Gaara's arms. Kakashi reached out towards the pair and gentle tendrils of mist flowed forward, plucking Sakura out of Gaara's hold and floating her unconscious form into the waiting embrace of her lover.

Kakashi scanned her face and body with Sharingan eyes, looking for any sign of injury. After finding none, his eyes faded back to their normal color. He fell to his knees, clutching her body tightly to his own and buried his face in the crook of her neck, nuzzling the area in a comforting gesture. Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara said nothing to him, they just stood in a semi- circle of protection around the pair, giving Kakashi time to cradle her and regain control of himself. A rustle of the grass announced the return of the large wolf. The beast's color had lightened from the almost black it had when it first formed into a soft gray. A mauled body hung from its mouth and the wolf continued to chew on it absentmindedly. After a moment, it dropped the enemy nin and lay its body down on the grass, close to its master. The wolf's eyes focused on Kakashi and it stayed absolutely still as if waiting for new orders. Kakashi looked up into its face and for a few minutes they communicated silently before, at a nod from the Copy-Nin, the wolf lay its head between its front paws and closed its eyes. The form of the beast began to lose cohesion until it faded into swirls of soft, grey mist and retreated into Kakashi's body.

Naruto looked away from his friends embraced on the ground to survey the carnage that was strewn across the valley. He knew without asking that not one enemy had made it away from there alive and part of him was proud of that fact. Only he knew, Tsunade would not be pleased that they were not able to bring back anyone for questioning. This line of thought was interrupted by a soft whimper coming from the broken chew toy the wolf had dropped nearby. Amazingly, the beast had not only decimated the enemy but had thought to bring its master a prisoner as well. Naruto hurried over to the shinobi to assess his condition. Using spare wrappings, he tied off the enemy's badly chewed legs to prevent a bleed out. Once finished, Naruto tossed the whimpering ninja over his shoulder and with a pointed look to Sasuke, left the clearing to hurry to the village.

Sasuke walked over to Kakashi and placed a gentle hand on the kneeling shinobi's shoulder, "Kakashi, we need to get her back to Konoha for medical attention." With a quick nod of acknowledgement, he raised to his feet, still holding Sakura tight to his chest and took off in the direction that Naruto had just disappear in. Before Sasuke was able to follow, a strong grip on his arm stopped him.

"What the hell was that, Uchiha? I wasn't made aware the Hidden Leaf had more than one tailed beast." Gaara's expression and tone made it clear that he expected an answer for what had just happened, but Sasuke had none to give the Kazekage.

"I really don't know what that was," Sasuke stated firmly before he removed Gaara's hand from its grip on his arm and followed his team towards home. Gaara watched him leave before turning his gaze from the trees back to the field of carnage. Gaara willed his sand to spread across the grass, collecting pieces of dead enemies and depositing them into a pile that the Hokage could have examined later. Once the dirty chore was complete, he too hurried in the direction the Leaf ninjas had gone. He meant to get an explanation for the display he had just witnessed.

Tsunade was waiting at the gate for word when Naruto returned with the dying shinobi slung over his shoulder. He came to a stop in front of the Hokage and threw the body onto the ground hard, eliciting a groan of pain from the injured nin. Tsunade turned to her assistant, Shizune. "Stabilize him so he can be moved to interrogation, "she ordered. Then she pointed at the two ANBU nin that were standing nearby as her guard, "Go with them and make sure once he talks that he suffers again before he dies." She whipped around on Naruto, ready to demand a report, but the sight of Kakashi walking through the gate with Sakura in his arms caused her to elbow the jinchuriki out of the way as she hurried to the prone form of her daughter. Tsunade scanned Kakashi's face and decided to leave Sakura in his embrace. He stood still to allow the Hokage to examine the pink-haired medic, watching as Tsunade closed her eyes and laid her hands on Sakura's forehead and chest. The soft, green glow of healing chakra lit up the group as Tsunade scanned for injuries and the cause for Sakura's unconsciousness.

After several minutes, Tsunade's eyes flew open and she gasped in surprise. The chakra flow to her hands cut off abruptly; she had found the cause. She met Kakashi's questioning look directly, placing a comforting hand on the silver-haired shinobi's shoulder, and understanding shone along with moisture in her eyes. "I need to take her to the hospital for treatment, Kakashi. Will you let me take care of her? I promise you that she will be okay." He glanced down at his love cradled in his arms, his grip tightened briefly before he nodded his agreement. He reluctantly released her into Tsuande's embrace and stepped back, never taking his eyes off Sakura's face.

Sasuke and Gaara entered the gate just in time to see Tsunade hurry off towards the hospital. Naruto, who was torn between following his injured friend or staying to comfort his ex-sensei, was glad to see the last Uchiha and hurried over to fill his friend in. "Baa-chan just left with Sakura headed to the hospital. We should all get over there as well." Sasuke nodded his agreement and the group headed down the street. Naruto looked back with the intention of calling for Kakashi to hurry, only to witness the Copy-Nin collapse into dirt of the street, unconscious. Naruto's mouth fell open in shock and Sasuke just shook his head.

"Come on, Dobe. Looks like Tsunade is going to have another patient." He grabbed Kakashi by the shoulders, indicating for Naruto to secure the legs, and together they carried their team leader in the direction of the hospital. Gaara followed behind the group, grumbling to himself about having to wait for answers.

Night fell over Konoha and the sound of a distant, lone wolf's howl echoed across the village, causing many hardened shinobi to feel a shiver of fore-boding race down their spines.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello readers! I wanted to say thank you for the great reviews I got on the last couple of chapters. I can't tell you how nice it is to have my story receive some love. It definitely inspires me to hurry and write the next chapter. Please review, follow, and favorite. On with the story…

Chapter 12

Naruto stomped his way up the stairs of the Hokage Tower, his displeasure at being called away from Sakura's bedside evident with every glare he sent to the unfortunate souls he passed along the way. He didn't even knock on the office door, deciding instead to barge right in. Tsunade was seated at her desk, old scrolls and dusty books arranged neatly in front of her in preparation for this meeting. Naruto gave the curtest of bows, choosing for once to follow the old adage: when you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing. Tsunade, for once, overlooked his rude behavior in favor of getting down to the matter at hand.

"Naruto, I read your report about what happened during the rescue mission and I have some questions and a favor to ask." She leaned forward in her chair, placing her elbows on the edge of the desk. "Do you have any idea about the nature of the beast that you encountered out there?"

"Other than the fact it saved Sakura and Gaara and it seemed to return to Kakashi-sensei, no."

"You mentioned that the Kyubi reacted to it. What can you tell me about that?"

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Who knows what that old fox was doing. Besides, I am more worried about Sakura and Kakashi-sensei. Why don't you tell me what's going on with them?"

Tsunade waved off his disgruntled tone, "Kakashi just had his chakra network overloaded, and he will be fine with some rest. Sakura…well, she will be okay." Naruto raised an eyebrow at her vague explanation and his face took on a stubborn expression. She sighed, realizing the jinchuriki was not going to cooperate without a better account of his friend's condition. "Look Naruto, all I can really tell you at the moment is Sakura has a severe drain on her chakra reserves. She put herself in a medically induced coma to reduce this drain. Her condition has improved since returning to the village. She should wake up on her own soon. I promise."

Naruto mulled over the Hokage's words for a moment before nodding his willingness to answer her questions. "I only know that Kurama seemed to feel for the beast."

"How so?"

Naruto shifted from foot to foot, trying to come up with an adequate description, "Well…he howled in response to the wolf creature and Kakashi's cry. That's all I know."

Tsuande nodded at his answer, casting a quick glance at the newly repaired window before she set her features into a serious expression. She turned her attention back to the blond jinchurki, "Naruto, would you let the Kyubi talk to me through you, if he's willing?"

"I'll try." Naruto closed his eyes and calmed his mind. After several minutes, dark red marks appeared across his face and when he reopened his eyes, they had taken on a deep crimson hue. A mocking smirk spread along his mouth as he addressed the Hokage, "Well, well, well…Just how can I be of assistance to the great Leader of the Leaf?"

Tsunade stiffened at the sarcastic tone of the Nine-Tails. "I need to know what is happening to my shinobi, Hatake Kakashi. I think you might have some answers for me."

Kurama chucked darkly, "Maybe I do." He shrugged his shoulders, the smirk on his face turning into an evil grin, "Why would I want to tell you if you are too stupid to figure it out on your own?"

The Hokage ignored his insult and pushed an old, worn book that was opened to a specific passage. She tapped her finger on the page to draw his attention to the handwritten words. "This is an accounting of a folktale, passed down in the Hatake family, of an ancestor of Kakashi's. It tells of a Hatake man making a pact with a wild chakra entity. The details are sketchy at best, but it says the man saved the entity by taking it into himself and nursing it with his own chakra. Am I close?"

The Nine-Tail moved closer to the desk and shot Tsunade a disgusted look before reading over the passage. He looked up from the book, smirk in place. "Maybe not so stupid after all."

"Is it a Tailed Beast?"

Kurama snorted at the suggestion, "No, it's more like…a cousin. An infant at that."

It was Tsunade's turn to snort at the Kyubi's answer, "An infant? This book is hundreds of years old and I read the reports of the creature. The damage it did in such a short time doesn't sound like the work of a child to me."

The Nine-Tails chucked again, "Compared to me, it is very young. It must have just gained full awareness in its latest host."

"Latest host? What do you mean?"

The jinchuriki walked over to the window, running a hand along the sill. He closed his eyes and smiled. The power still in the wood frame sparked against his fingertips. "The tale is somewhat true in that a man did come across an injured chakra entity and saved its life by allowing it to live inside his body. The two shared an affinity for lightening chakra, so they were a perfect match of beast and host. However, the entity could not be healed in the man's lifetime. So a pact was made, the man would produce an heir for the beast to transfer to and be nurtured by. In return, his decedents would gain a power that would one day be almost as great as my own." The Kyubi turned to Tsuande, "Now the Hatake _pet_ is all grown up but the truth is lost, even to the very man giving it new life."

"How is it transferred?"

"The transfer is usually slow and starts at the heir's conception. Continuing up until the death of the parent at which time it is complete."

Tsuande had a terrible thought, "What if the host dies while the heir is still young?"

"It would happen all at once and it would shock both the beast and the new host. Very painful as well, I would imagine." The Kyubi looked grim at the thought.

"What if there is no heir? What happens then?"

Kurama threw his host's head back and laughed out loud. "I think we both know that's not a problem, don't we?" Tsunade clenched her fists on the desktop but didn't respond. "I'm surprised separating the heir from the host didn't kill your pink-haired kunoichi. Must have cost her a lot of her chakra to maintain the child without the energy of the host. You should be more careful, _Hokage-sama._ "

Whatever response Tsunade would have made to the Nine-Tails was lost when the office door was thrown open to admit a furious Shizune. "Hokage-sama, you are needed at the hospital immediately. Danzo is there with his Root agents. They said they are arresting Kakashi and taking him into custody on orders from the Counsel."

Tsuande shot up from her seat in disbelief, "What the hell are you talking about? On what charges?"

"They say Kakashi concealed a dangerous power from the village. They believe he is a danger to the well-being of Konoha." Shizune breathlessly choked out. The Hokage made to run out the door, indicating with a gesture for her assistant to follow. As she got to the door, the Kyubi had one more thing to say.

"The beast has a name, by the way." Tsuande stopped, turning her head to listen. "His name is Haiiro."

"Thank you for knowledge, Kurama-sama" Tsuande made a bow of respect to the Nine-Tails that he returned before releasing his control over Naruto. As soon as he regained his senses, he opened his mouth to let loose a string of questions, but the Hokage held her hand up to stop him. "Not right now, Naruto. I have to get over there and put an end to Danzo's schemes. Your questions will just have to wait." With that, she hurried out the door. Shizune and Naruto close on her heels all the way to the hospital.

She entered the front doors in such a temper that they banged hard against the walls, the sound echoing through the halls of the hospital. Tsuande made her way to the ward that Kakashi and Sakura were recovering in. At the door to Kakashi's room she met a smug-looking Danzo with two Root agents carrying a still unconscious Copy-Nin right behind him. She stalked right up into the retired ninja's face, a growl escaping her mouth. "What the hell do you think you are doing, Danzo? By what right are you removing this man from MY hospital?" Tsunade yelled.

Danzo sneered at the enraged Hokage, "I have the support of the Council in this, Tsuande- _sama_. You have no say in it. The days of your dangerous pet shinobi running lose in this village are over." His eyes flickered over to the jinchuriki standing behind her as if to say that Naruto would be next. Danzo leaned forward to speak directly into Tsuande's ear, "Fight me on this and I will finally have the reason I have needed to oust you at last. I will take control of this village, mark my words." His threat delivered, he moved past the stunned Hokage, bumping his shoulder into her chest in an aggressive gesture.

Tsuande reached out, grabbing onto the front of his robes and roughly pulling him down to face him directly. "Mark MY words, _Danzo._ One day your lust for power will end you and all your dreams will be nothing but dust." With her own threat delivered, she shoved the conniving old shinobi hard. He stumbled for a moment before gaining his feet. He shot her another smug smirk and hurried down the hall, sharply ordering the Root agents carrying Kakashi to speed along. Tsunade stayed where she was, a determined glare focused on Danzo's quickly retreating figure until he rounded the corner and left her sight. Then, with a heavy sigh and a slump to her shoulders, she entered a nearby room where Sakura lay on a bed, oblivious to the drama that unfolded just feet away from where she slumbered.

"What are you going to do Baa-chan?" Naruto inquired softly from the doorway. Tsunade placed one hand on her sleeping daughter's head and another over her own face.

"I don't know, Naruto." She said quietly. Never had Tsunade felt so helpless or filled with worry. How could things have gotten so out of control? She flared her chakra to check on Sakura's condition. She could feel the life force of the embryo, pulsing with power. ' _So much chakra in someone so small. What would the Council say if they knew about you?_ 'Tsuande thought to herself. Pulling on some inner-strength, the Hokage straighten herself up and turned to Shizune who was wringing her hands in the corner of the room, "Find out what you can about what the Council members have to say about all of this but be careful not to give them any information that they don't already have."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Shizune hurried out of the room to obey her orders. Tsunade turned then to Naruto, "Get whoever you trust together and let them know what's going on and, for kami's sake, do it QUIETLY!" The jinchuriki was out the door without a word before she even finished issuing the order. It was time to get to work, the Hokage told herself. With renewed determination, she turned to leave her daughter's bedside. A soft, scratchy voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Shishou, what's happening? Where is Kakashi?"

Sakura had woken up at last.


	13. Chapter 13

I hope that last chapter gave some satisfactory answers to the mystery. I know these chapters are leaving on cliffhangers but I promise I will work hard to not leave anyone hanging for too long. I'm totally throwing my kids under the bus this time for buying me a new Harvest Moon game, it has _nothing_ to do with any writer's block. Thank you so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites. They are writing fuel for sure. A big thanks to Leomae2.0 for the private message. It made me finish this chapter and get it on up. On with the story…

Chapter 13

It was random sounds that first penetrated the inky blackness for Kakashi. Sounds of random low voices, metal doors slamming shut, and the echoing drips of water hitting stone. He tried to focus on the noises and come back to awareness, but they were too random and short-lived to be much help. So, Kakashi surrendered to the darkness for the time being and was relieved for it. He was so tired.

" _Kakashi…_ " a voice came through, interrupting his rest. It sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place it. " _Kakashi, you must listen to me_." Who was this? Where was it coming from?

" _I am here with you. I have always been with you. You know me just as I know you, Kakashi._ "

Yes, he did know this voice. He had heard it whispering in his mind for as long as he could remember. He just always chalked it up to instinct and intuition, but now Kakashi just KNEW who this was, "Haiiro."

A soft chuckle echoed around in Kakashi's mind. " _You always were a smart one. Now, open your mind's eye and let's have a talk._ " Kakashi opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Frankly, it was boring. Just grey mist as far as the eye could see, except for the figure of a wolf with electric blue eyes, sitting patiently as it watched him and waited.

"So, this is what you look like when you aren't burning a hole in my chest?" Kakashi joked to the beast. What else does one say to the chakra creature that has been tagging along inside your body?

Haiiro did the equivalent of a wolf's shrug, " _I look like you want me too. If you don't like it, you can change it. However, right now we have more important things to do. I wish we had more time to talk, but things are getting crazy while you are sleeping away._ "

Kakashi's heart leaped into his throat, "Sakura? Is she okay?" The wolf nodded in the affirmative. "Well, tell me what's happening then."

" _First, I would like to give you my memories, if you are willing. It might help to understand the history of your family and myself_." Kakashi grunted his agreement and the wolf padded closer to him. Haiiro's blue eyes met the mismatched ones of Kakashi and a connection was made.

The images came in a tidal wave of flashes, sounds, and thoughts, both Hatake men's and Haiiro's together. The first scene was of a young shinobi with dark black hair, deep in the forest, coming across a wounded Haiiro. The deal was struck and suddenly, Kakashi was viewing the young man's reflection in a mirror, except this time the man's hair was pale silver, the exact same shade as the Copy Nin's own locks. Then, Kakashi could see and feel the unknown ancestor looking down at a newborn. He watched as that child grew up and had children of his own, only one sporting the Hatake silver hair. Generation after generation, Kakashi watched all the lives of those that came before him. All the battles, laughs, heartbreaks, loves, and moments that made up life after life until, finally, a familiar face. His father, Hatake Sakumo, was born and grew up in flashes in Kakashi's mind. All of his dreams, his faults, and his fears laid bare to his son. The love Sakumo had felt for Kakashi's mother warmed the Copy Nin briefly before the ghost memory of Haiiro, begging him not to take the lengthy mission during his wife's pregnancy. Dire warnings were ignored for the 'sake of the village' and feelings of love turned to agony of loss and anger. The next flash felt like it ripped Kakashi apart. His father, overcome with rage and guilt at his wife's death, swearing to a despondent Haiiro that he would end them both to save his son. Then, there was pain, Kakashi's and Haiiro's. Intense and merciless. Kakashi fought to slow his breathing and relax. He needed to know everything.

After several moments, the memories gained color and substance again. Kakashi could still feel the damage that Sakumo's death had caused to Haiiro, limiting the beast's ability to communicate with its host, but the scenes were now familiar. Kakashi's own life flashed by, colored with the thoughts and feelings of Haiiro. The chakra beast's fear grew as Kakashi went through his younger days, showing no signs of settling down and creating an heir. Then, images of Sakura filled the darkness of Kakashi's duty-filled life, right up until that magical night in the forest. Haiiro's relief and determination were strong as he flared up his power and overrode Sakura's birth control jutsu to create the heir that would save both itself and Kakashi. Wait…

Kakashi broke the connection, sputtering in disbelief, "What? I mean, what did you do? Sakura, is she, I mean…is she pregnant?" The wolf looked at the outraged shinobi with a sheepish expression.

" _It was necessary, Kakashi. I am sorry that I had to influence your life in this way, but without an heir to transfer power to the buildup of my chakra would have killed you and me both_."

"What about how your 'interference' will affect Sakura? Did you even consider her feelings before you forced this on her? My mother died to give birth to me. Can that happen to Sakura?" Kakashi, in a state of anger at the danger that he had unknowingly visited on the woman he loved, could understand his father's rage and anguish that drove the older shinobi to make that fatal choice.

" _Your mother died because Sakumo kept taking extended missions while she was carrying you. I warned him that the transfer would be interrupted with so much distance between them. It takes a lot of chakra to grow an heir and without being close enough for me to supply that chakra, the baby takes what it needs from the mother's life force. She gave everything she had to bring you into this world_."

Kakashi took a moment to absorb all the things he had just learned. The truth about his parents and the knowledge that he was going to be a father were a lot to process. Haiiro said nothing, but began to pace back and forth, body tense and ears pitched forward as if listening for something.

" _Kakashi, as much as I would like to give you time to reflect, I really must make you aware of what's going on. I'm afraid our little display during Sakura's rescue has attracted some bad attention. Some ass named Danzo has convinced the Council that we are dangerous to the village. You are currently in a cell with chakra blockers on. It can only limit your personal levels and not mine, but I do need you to wake up to address the situation_."

Kakashi couldn't resist rolling his eyes at his current dilemma. Nothing could ever come easy could it? He was going to acknowledge the need for consciousness but a sudden mystery that had still not been explained made him question the chakra beast again, "What about my eyes? What is that about?"

Haiiro turned to face his master, " _A gift, to a friend_. _One that will endure through the generations_." At Kakashi's slow nod of acceptance, the wolf returned his attention to what had made him restless before. " _Be ready, there are people approaching your cell_."

.

.

.

Leaving the warm, grey mists of his inner mind, Kakashi was instantly aware of the ache all over his body. He held on to the moan that was trying to escape his throat. The soft swish of clothing announced that he was about to get company. He opened his eyes and took in the barren cell, recognizing it to be one of many in the basement of ANBU headquarters. Forcing his sore body to move, Kakashi sat up on the dingy cot he had been placed on. Chakra binding cuffs secured his hands and feet to the wall with only enough length to allow for him to stand in the middle of the small room. Kakashi chose to stay sitting on the edge of the bed with his feet securely on the floor and wait for his company to enter. The scraping sound of a key drew his gaze to the door. First in the door was a silent, masked ROOT shinobi who moved into place just to the right of the portal. Kakashi ignored the stoic guard and gave all of his focus to the second, much more appealing shinobi to enter the room.

"Sakura." Her face raised up at the sound of her name. Her features schooled into a friendly, but distance expression.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm here to treat you. Please lay back down." Her green eyes flickered over towards the ROOT agent quickly, giving Kakashi a silent explanation for her cold behavior. He closed his mouth on all the things that he wanted to say to her and did as she asked. Somehow, he managed to keep his eyes focused on the ceiling and not soaking in the sight of her. A rustle and thump made him aware that Sakura had crossed the room to kneel next to the cot and placed her medical bag on the floor at her knees.

"You will need to remove his chakra bindings for me to do a full checkup." Sakura shot her curt demand to the guard at the door. He said nothing but crossed his arms across his chest in a silent no. Pulling on a pair of latex gloves with a snap, she nailed him to the wall with her glare, "Fine, suit yourself." Using the protection the gloves provided, Sakura reached for the cuffs on Kakashi's wrists and flaring her chakra to just two fingers on each hand, she crushed the metal, ruining the symbols that restricted chakra. She reached next for the cuffs on his ankles, ignoring that Kakashi had shot to his feet. The guard leapt in their direction, but he was too late. As soon as Kakashi was freed, he sent chakra to his eyes, activating the altered Sharingan. The ROOT agent hit the floor with a whimper and didn't move. Kakashi stuffed him into the corner of the room and with a quick glance out into the hallway, shut the door quietly.

"Kakashi…" Sakura's voice, that had been so firm moments before, had a slight tremble to it now. Kakashi said nothing, but crossed the small space and lifted her from her position on the floor into his tight embrace. He wrapped his arms around her torso and buried his face into her soft, sweet-scented hair. She returned his embrace with enthusiasm. The long weeks of separation and the dire circumstances they found themselves in caused both of the shinobi to cling to each other as if they could not get close enough. Long minutes pasted with no words, only soft, loving touches and caresses. As if suddenly becoming aware of where they were, Sakura pulled slightly away but still not leaving the comforting warmth of his arms. Wiping the wetness that had appeared on her cheeks, she looked in Kakashi's eyes. "I have so much to tell you and very little time. Tsuande-sama was only able to convince the Council to let me give you medical care because they removed you from the hospital. She had to exaggerate your condition a little and still had to bring up some old laws about the treatment of prisoners. Oh, Kakashi, they think you are a danger to the village due to what has been happening to you. They think you have been illegally trying to obtain power to take over."

Kakashi cupped her cheeks in his hand, using his thumbs to wipe away the remaining moisture there. The relief at having her right there in front of him and in good health superseded any worry about his imprisonment. "I'm just glad you are okay." With that statement, he yanked down his mask, leaned down and used his gentle grasp on her face to pull her into a long kiss, putting all his love into the simple gesture. Sakura returned his affection with equal vigor. The kiss deepened and lasted until they finally separated to catch their breaths.

"Tsuande told me what is happening to you. Are _you_ okay? I mean, other than your eyes, are there any more changes? Are you in any pain?" As she questioned him, she was running her hands over his chest, healing chakra flaring in her fingertips.

"I'm fine. Better than fine. Don't worry about me." He caught her wandering hands in his one of his own and held them to his chest. "Why don't you tell me everything that is going on?"

Sakura sighed and stepped away from his embrace. She wrapped her arms around her chest as if to protect herself from the things she had to tell him. After a moment to collect her thoughts, she turned back to Kakashi. "Danzo and the elders have called for a trial to determine if you should be executed or expelled from Konoha. They are also using Tsuande's support of you and Naruto as a reason to try and depose her from office. Most of our forces and a great many of the civilians are protesting this development, but the Council, encouraged by Danzo, seem set on this course of action. They are saying they want to rid the village of the unstable 'demon-ridden' shinobi and replace them with more controllable, well-trained forces. It's like our whole way of life is under attack and that's not all…" Sakura paused in her rant, casting a shy glance at Kakashi, obviously concerned at how he would take her next bit of news, before looking away from him to stare up at the stone ceiling of the cell, "Kakashi…we are going to have a baby. I'm sorry…I don't know how I could be so careless. Only you and Tsunade know about this for now, mainly because of the strong possibility that Danzo could try to use our baby against us, or worse, take it from us."

Kakashi quickly pulled her back to his warmth and placed a finger on her lips to silence her. "That's never going to happen," he stated gruffly. Then he smiled at her to convey his joy and she relaxed in his arms, her lips curving up into a tentative smile of her own. He replaced his finger on her mouth with his lips and grasped her by the waist with both hands. When he finally pulled away from the kiss, Kakashi slowly fell to his knees in front of her, placing his cheek on the slight swell of her abdomen. Through his connection with Haiiro, he could feel the pulsing life-force that was his son. _His Son!_ He murmured in a soft whisper, "So small, and you have already saved your old man's ass. What a miracle you are." Moisture swelled in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Sakura's torso tightly, rubbing his face into the place his child rested. Sakura brought up her hands to run through his hair, holding him firm against her body.

" _Kakashi, there are people approaching and one of them is that Danzo character_ ," Haiiro warning was loud in his mind. Kakashi released Sakura and stood facing the door, pushing her to stand behind him. The sound of metal scraping the stone floor announced the arrival of Danzo and several ROOT shinobi. The guards entered the room, two of them grabbed up their unconscious compatriot out of the corner and hurried him out while four more masked shinobi flanked both sides of the doorway. Once they were in place, Danzo strolled in, swollen with his own sense of importance. He took in Kakashi's freed state and his face curled in a smirk.

"I see your need for medical attention was not near as dire as implied. Medic, you can leave now." Sakura couldn't help but stiffen behind Kakashi at Danzo's curt command, but she made no move to follow the man's instruction. At this refusal by the kunoichi, the villainous war-monger gave a quick nod at the ROOT ninja to his left. Immediately, the shinobi flashed behind Sakura, holding a sharp blade to her throat. Kakashi's eyes flared blue as the Sharingan activated. A deep growl escaped the Copy Nin's throat.

"Now, now, Hatake. You wouldn't want my man's hand to slip and something to happen to such a talented medic." Danzo walked to stand next to Sakura and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. His threat was crystal clear in his tight grip on Sakura and the glare he sent the enraged prisoner. "I suggest you be on your best behavior while my man replaces your restraints." Kakashi's gaze flick over to the ROOT agent approaching him with a new set of chakra bindings. His body tightened as the need to fight flowed through him, but the sudden hiss of Sakura's breathe and the trail of blood from where the blade dug into her neck forced his compliance. He stayed completely still while the man replaced his shackles, his threatening gaze never leaving Danzo's smug face. The blue glow of his eyes faded as the cuffs were fastened into place. "Your trial starts tomorrow, I suggest you get some rest." With those parting words, the older ninja moved to sweep out of the room without even a backwards glance. Suddenly, Danzo's feet got pulled out behind him, causing him to face plant right into the metal door. In an embarrassed huff, he regained his footing and whipped around to confront the Copy Nin, only to find the silver-haired shinobi standing still, face blank of emotion. A fine mist swirled along the floor of the cell. Not finding a cause for his mishap, Danzo straightened his robes and hurried out of the door, followed by his guards. The ROOT shinobi holding Sakura backed out of the room, holding her in front of him and between his person and Kakashi. Sakura never took her eyes off of her lover's face as she was dragged out. She mouthed, 'I love you' before the door slammed, hiding her from view. Finally alone, Kakashi sat down heavily on the cot and put his face in his hands with a shuddering breath. The weight of the world felt heavy on his shoulders.

.

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Sakura was being lead down the stone hallway, still held by the ROOT agent. Rage bubbled up inside her, " _Danzo!_ " The older man stopped and turned towards the angered medic. Sakura grabbed her captor's wrist and twisted his arm behind his back in a quick motion, breaking the bone. She grabbed the guard's neck and slammed his face into the stone wall of the corridor, her glare never leaving Danzo's face. "If you ever threaten me again, I WILL kill you!" she growled out at him and to emphasize her point, she slammed the ROOT agent in her grasp into the wall twice more, smashing what was left of his face completely flat. With the now dead shinobi's blood splattered across her face, she released the body to fall limp onto the floor. Sakura stomped past the shocked Danzo, roughly bumping into his shoulder as she passed. Stunned, no one said anything or made a move towards the pink-haired kunochi as she disappeared out of their view.


	14. Chapter 14

I have to admit this chapter fought me the whole time. I am so sorry I made everyone wait a whole month. As always, reviews and favorites are greatly appreciated. On with the story…

Chapter 14

Kakashi was dragged into the council room by two ROOT thugs. They had stripped him of his normal ninja gear and forced him to dress in white, prison garb. It was either relent and wear the clothes or go naked to his own trial. As scratchy as the stiff material was, he kind of wished he had chosen the latter. The expression on the elder council members' faces would have been worth it. In an unusual gesture of respect, the goons had let him keep his mask in place.

The small groups' entrance was a dramatic show, put on for the audience waiting in the large circular room. It sent an illusion of power to Danzo's lackeys and a sense of helplessness to Kakashi's supporters present. Yanking his hands forward, the ROOT shinobi fastened his chakra cuffs to a chain secured to a wooden post set in the floor at the center of the room. Kakashi couldn't resist making a quick, aggressive jerk in one of his guard's direction and chuckling as the shinobi stumbled backwards in an attempt to get away. The two ROOT backed away to take up positions on both sides of the door. Kakashi's eyes followed their retreat until the irritated clearing of a throat pulled his attention to the front of the room. Danzo sat in the highest chair that was usually reserved for the Hokage, flanked by his corrupt council members. The displeasure at Kakashi's antics was clear on the old warmonger's face. Along the left side of the room sat all the clan heads, their faces showed a range of displeasure. The right side was filled with Kakashi's friends and supporters, their faces displayed mostly rage. His eyes landed on Sakura where she was seated next to Tsunade. Her face was a stoic mask of calm, but her green eyes were on fire with her anger. Kakashi only gave himself a few seconds to take in the vision of the woman he loves before returning his attention to the cause of his current dilemma.

Danzo puffed out his chest and adopted an air of importance. "First off, it has been decided by this esteemed council that I take the role normally reserved for the Hokage due to her personal involvement in the matters at hand. It is believed that she would not be able to remain impartial and also she must answer for her own actions that could be viewed as possible conspiracy. Therefore, I humbly accept the council's request that I take the lead in this meeting." Danzo placed his good hand over his chest and bowed his head slightly in a false gesture of humility. The room began to rumble with murmurs of discontent at his accusations against their village leader. Tsunade, herself, just sat still with a look of cold fury directed at Danzo. He raised his hand in the air in a bid for silence and waited for the grumbling to settle before he continued with his speech, this time directing his words to the prisoner in the middle of the room.

"Hatake Kakashi, we are here today to address your illegal pursuit of power and the danger it poses to this village. This council has already reviewed the records pertaining to your cultivation and unauthorized use of a chakra beast. Your activities have been deemed forbidden and in violation of village law. The punishment for this is execution." Danzo paused here for effect and waited for the gasps of his audience to die down in volume. He didn't bother to acknowledge any of the outcry, but keep his focus on Kakashi. While he kept his expression flat and unemotional, Danzo's eyes burned with violence and bloodlust.

Tsunade could stand it no longer, "You go too far, Danzo. Kakashi has always been a loyal shinobi to Konoha. This power was thrust upon him, he never pursued it. How can you causally speak of killing one of this village's greatest defenders?" She had shot to her feet, her hands clenched into fists on the tabletop in front of her. Next to Tsunade, Sakura sat, her white face displaying her shock and hands folded over her abdomen in a protective gesture.

"Be quiet, woman" Danzo snapped at her sharply. "You have no say in this matter. As a matter of fact, soon you will have no say in the leadership of this village at all. The Fire Lord agrees with the Council that your assistance in the cultivation of these _monsters_ , is an unacceptable risk. He has decided that my vision of well-trained, controllable shinobi are better for the Land of Fire than the use of unstable ninja who rely on unnatural means to obtain power." Danzo moved his gaze around the room to meet the eyes of all the people in the room before continuing, "A review of all shinobi and clans will begin to determine if they are acceptable to this new vision for the future of Konoha. Those deemed unworthy or dangerous will be required to leave immediately or face the consequences."

"I will not allow you to tear apart this village, Danzo!" Tsunade seethed with her rage and she wasn't alone. Many clan heads present stiffened with indignation at this outrageous proclamation. Even members of the Council squirmed in their seats, casting uneasy glances at their de facto leader. The results of their blind loyalty to the warmonger just beginning to sink in, doubt clear in the elders' faces.

Danzo just sat back in his stolen chair, a smirk on his face. He arched a brow at Tsunade and commented in a smug tone, "Well, if you are unhappy with this new order, you are welcome to take your monsters and leave this village."

Sakura roused from her stupor and stood up, placing a hand on her shishou's shoulder to prevent Tsunade from jumping over the table to attack. Now was not the time for unthinking action, thought and planning were going to be necessary to get them out of this dilemma. If Danzo was supported by the Fire Lord, going against him would brand the offender as a traitor and be just the excuse needed to put them to death. Sakura knew this problem would have to be approached with strategy and cunning. With some soothing words in her teacher's ear, they both returned to their seats. Kakashi's fate had yet to be determined and she needed to know what they were up against to save him.

"Now, back to the trial before us, Hatake Kakashi…" Danzo began, seemingly bored with Tsunade's display of anger.

Kakashi scoffed, "You call this a trial?" The sarcastic tone caused Danzo's face to tighten in fury. He gave a sharp jerk of his head and immediately, several ROOT shinobi responded to the unspoken order. They flashed behind Kakashi and, using the swords strapped to their backs, cut the muscles of his legs, causing him to fall to his knees. With a sharp cry, Sakura leapt from her seat and rushed to Kakashi's side, her hands glowing with healing chakra and her enraged eyes daring the ROOT shinobi to interfere. Her skill repaired the damage quickly and as soon as he was able, Kakashi was on his feet and straining against the chain in an effort to retaliate against the traitorous, retired shinobi. Gray mist poured out across the floor as his control on Haiiro's power weakened in his angered state. Sakura stood next to him, one hand rubbing his back in a calming motion and the other place gently on his arm. Her gaze was on the side of his face, love glowing from the deep, green orbs. Danzo's eye narrowed at the scene and, in a moment of clarity, Kakashi realized that he was not the focus of that attention. It was Sakura's loving gesture that was drawing Danzo's scrutiny. Kakashi relaxed his body and turned to Sakura, murmuring softly that he was okay. With a gentle push, he encouraged her to return to her place, forcing himself to return his gaze to the man in the high seat and not follow her as she made her way across the room. Danzo kept his eyes on Sakura until Kakashi once again lowered his self to his knees and bowed his head. His pride was not worth putting Sakura or his unborn child in danger. If a false display of weakness would keep them safe, then, so be it.

Satisfied with the display of compliance, Danzo returned his attention to Kakashi, "Now, back to you, Hatake. Your service record to this village has been taken into account and it is the decision of this Council that your execution be commuted to the lesser sentence of expulsion from Konoha. At dawn tomorrow, you will be taken to the village gates and allowed to leave unharmed. You will be given clothes and minimal gear but all of your assets and other possessions will be confiscated. If you or anyone else," Danzo sent a glare around the room, "seeks to interfere with the Council's decision, there will be consequences. Also, if you seek an alliance with other Hidden Villages or attempt to return to Konaha, you will be executed by hunter-nin immediately. Understood?"

Kakashi didn't raise his eyes from the floor so Danzo wouldn't see the fire that he knew would burn there. He simply nodded in agreement. Danzo seemed satisfied with Kakashi's gesture of acceptance and cleared his throat loudly before addressing the rest of the room, "Good. For the rest of you, a schedule for review will be sent to all clan heads, as well as independent shinobi. Compliance is required and any act of defiance will be grounds for immediate arrest and conviction. That will be all for today. Dismissed." With those parting words, Danzo stood and left the room surrounded by his personal guard. The Council moved quickly to follow him out.

The two ROOT stationed at the door came forward to unlock Kakashi's cuffs from the chain securing him. Each with a hold on one arm, they began to drag him out of the room. Kakashi only gave enough resistance to delay leaving too quickly. He spent the precious extra seconds to meet Sakura's eyes. The worry and frustration was evident on her face, but fixing her gaze to his, her expression soften. She mouthed an, _I love you_ , and managed a weary smile. Kakashi returned her loving gesture with a small grin of his own and mouthed a quick, _don't worry_ , back to her before the closing of the doors finally hid the lovers from each other. Sakura heaved a shuddering sigh, swallowing the sob of despair in her throat, before turning to Tsunade.

"What are we going to do, Shishou?"

Tsunade pulled her glare from the direction that Danzo departed. "Now we gather all of our comrades and plan our next move. Go get everyone we can trust together and meet me in an hour at the far training grounds. Be discrete. We don't need to draw too much attention and I'm sure Danzo has his rabid dogs watching our every move." Sakura nodded and left quickly to follow the order. Tsunade turned to her assistant, "Shizune, I need to quietly get word to the clan leaders and invite them to our little meeting. If they won't see you, speak to their heirs, maybe the younger ones will be more willing to listen. I'm sure that none of them are looking forward to being _reviewed_ by that warmonger and his zombie nins."

Shizune hesitated, "What do you think all this means for our home, Tsunade-sama?"

The weary, ousted Hokage wasn't one to suger-coat the truth, "It could mean the end of Konaha as we know it. However, we are not going to give up without a fight." Shizune's eyes filled with tears as she absorbed those words, but she raised her chin with defiance. She bowed with respect to Tsunade.

"I believe in you, Hokage-sama. We will fight to the last if necessary." With that impassioned declaration, Shizune left without another word to carry out her orders.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that" Tsunade spoke softly to herself. She threw a quick glare at the door that the Council had left through. Willing her anger to turn to determination, she turned and quit the room. There was a lot to accomplish and very little time.

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Once in the hall, one of the elders approached Danzo, reaching out to snag his sleeve with her hand to get his attention. "Danzo-sama, A moment of your time please." He came to a quick stop and glared first at the hand on his arm, then at the elder council woman's face. He said nothing, and she took that to mean he would listen to her words, so she continued, "What do you mean by threatening our forces with a review? Are you not worried at the clans' reaction to be forced to comply? The village might lose some of its strongest shinobi and we could become very vulnerable to attack. Maybe you should rethink your course of action."

Danzo reached out, taking the woman's hand in his own. He squeezed until the elder whimpered at the pain from his grip. "I have been given complete authority over this village by the Fire Lord at the Council's own request, at _your_ own request. If you are worried about the village's safety, then we will increase ROOT's numbers to compensate for the loss of a few unwanted shinobi." He threw her hand back at her, causing the woman to stumble backwards with the force. He moved forward as if to continue down the hall but stopped, turning his face to fix her with a glare. "And if you or any of the Council question my methods again, I will have you declared a dangerous malcontent and remove you from MY village." With that last threat ringing in the air, Danzo left the stunned woman standing in the hall. The realization of their mistake settling in her gut.


	15. Chapter 15

Hope everyone is excited to find out what happens next. Favorites, Reviews, and Follows are always appreciated. Please stick around for the author's note at the end for some important news. On with the story…

Chapter 15

The sun glared harshly, causing Kakashi to squint his eyes in discomfort, as he was taken from his cell and out into the light of the early morning. Dressed now in basic shinobi wear, he was at least no longer forced to endure the torture of the scratchy prison garb. The chakra cuffs chafed his wrists as the two ROOT drug him out into the morning. The guards said nothing as they escorted Kakashi in the direction of the front gates some distance away. He let his legs sort of drag along. No sense in making it easy on them, Right?

Coming out of the door right behind the little group was Danzo, along with his own personal protection squad of four, masked ROOT shinobi. He had covered himself in a long, white robe that mimicked the official Hokage garb and his face wore a smug, satisfied expression. All of his devious plans were coming to fruition and Hatake Kakashi's expulsion was just the beginning of putting this village to rights in his view. No longer were they going to be dependent on the whims of over-powered, unstable shinobi for the protection of the Hidden Leaf. Training and conditioning, under Danzo's supervision of course, were the new order of the day. Yes, in his mind, things were really looking up and anyone that was not on board with his plans would be dealt with. Permanently, if need be.

The small procession, with a shackled Kakashi at its front, turned onto the main thoroughfare that cut through the heart of Konoha and lead straight to the massive front gates. The buildings that lined the sides of the road were mostly businesses, primarily owned by civilians, which supported the population of the Hidden Leaf. While the assignments taken on by the shinobi were a big part of what made the village the strongest of all Hidden Villages, it was the shops and establishments that made the everyday lives of all the residents possible. It only took a few steps down the street to realize that none of the businesses were open. Instead, the proprietors and their families were lined up along the roadway and completely silent. Up on the roofs of the buildings were masked and equally stoic ANBU shinobi, in complete battle gear. Their eyes were focused on the grim parade making its way towards the entrance of the village. Many of the masks Kakashi recognized as long time brothers in arms and he nodded to a few in a gesture of gratitude for their support. Judging by the fall of Danzo's smirk, this show was not expected or appreciated.

As they made their way closer to the gates, the structures gave way to the park-like stretch leading to the massive, wooden gates that were swung out to reveal the thick forest beyond. This area was also filled, but with a large range of shinobi of varying ranks, all equipped with their respective battle gear, quietly flanking both sides of the avenue all the way down till it ended. The only thing Kakashi could tell was missing from their uniforms was their forehead protectors that proclaimed them as Leaf. He brought his shuffling, slouched walk to an abrupt stop and took a long moment to scan the faces, many familiar, of the shinobi present to witness his forced exile from the only home he had ever known. All of his important people were here, except for the most treasured one. Sakura was nowhere in sight.

Disappointment caused Kakashi's chest to tighten with emotion. He had really wanted to see her, needed to see her, before he was made to leave. All of the possible reasons for her absence raced through his mind and suffocating worry replaced heavy regret.

 _'She is unharmed, Kakashi. I can feel her nearby'_ Haiiro reassured him from the recesses of his mind. With a deep breath, He calmed his thoughts and knew what the chakra beast said was true. Kakashi could sense her chakra in the distance, but before he could pinpoint her location, he was shoved rudely from behind. The ROOT escorting him had lost patience with his delay and the large grouping of silent shinobi surrounding them were putting nerves on edge. The small contingent of ninja and their prisoner continued forward toward the gate.

"Hatake, you WILL leave this place and never return, and if you go against me in any way, my ROOT will hunt you down like the dog you are." Danzo growled at the back of the Copy Nin. The older shinobi's voice bristled with his anger and nervousness. The overwhelming show of support and strength towards Kakashi by the majority of Leaf Nin was obviously causing him discomfort.

No one lining the streets spoke or moved until Kakashi had gotten within ten feet of the entrance to the village. Two shinobi left their posts and stepped right in the opening of the gate, blocking the way. Nara Shikamaru and his father, the heir and the head of the Nara clan of shadow users, brought their hands up in tandem and quickly made the hand signs for the clan's signature move. Before Danzo and his ROOT members could react, they were secured in the living shadows' grip and rendered immobile. The trapped shinobi could only struggle against their restraints while Kakashi could just stand there, mouth agape with shock. Naruto and Sasuke moved forward from their place in the walls of ninja lining the street and stood next to the Nara men. In each set of their clenched fists dangled the forehead protectors of all the shinobi present, including the friends' own. They held them out in front of them, their cold, determined gazes focused on Danzo. Their killing intent flowed out in waves as a warning.

Kakashi stumbled forward towards his friends, his clouded mind clearing and understanding of their intentions filled his heart with pride and warmth. Before he could voice his thoughts, a large buildup of chakra far behind him caused his instincts to kick in and he wheeled around to locate the possible danger. He quickly located the source of power on the very top of the Hokage Monument.

There, perched atop the head of the first Hokage, stood his love, Sakura. She was not alone, because Tsunade was also there, standing proud atop the spot where the masons had begun carving Danzo's ugly mug. Kakashi snorted to himself at the usurper's gall, trying to waste no time putting his mark on the same mountain face that displayed Konoha's best leaders. Though she was too far away for him to truly see, Kakashi could feel the wide, wicked grin upon his woman's face.

With a mighty yell, both woman jumped into the air, charging their powerful fists with chakra. They came down together, slamming the stone beneath them with all their strength. A blast of wind flowed out and the horrible sound of breaking rock echoed out through the village. As if in slow motion, the whole mountain face began to crumble. The likenesses that had been a symbol of the Hidden Leaf from its beginning, slide down to crash at the base of the mountain. The two kunoichi responsible fled the destruction, leaping along the rooftops and landing in a crouched position between Naruto and Sasuke.

Sakura slowly rose from the ground to stand, shoulders back and chin held high with pride. Kakashi wasted no time and hurried to stand before his kunochi, his eyes roaming over every inch of her beautiful face. He raised his shackled hands to rest them on her smooth cheeks. Sakura, smiling up at him, raised her own hands and crushed the chakra restraints. As they fell to the ground, Kakashi used his new freedom of movement to bury his fingers in her rose-tinted hair and tilted her face. He gently lower his lips to caress her own in a long, lingering kiss. Sakura ran her hands up the firm plane of his chest until she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Soft, gray tendrils of mist rose up, encircling the embracing lovers. The longer they stayed locked together, the faster the mist swirled until it whipped their hair around in a wild frenzy.

Danzo struggled fiercely against the shadows imprisoning him. His rage raising up into his throat, he choked out a threat at them. "I WILL KILL YOU BOTH! MY MEN WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND SLAUGHTER YOU ALL!" he yelled out in his impotent fury.

Instantly, Kakashi turned his face towards Danzo, his eyes flared with the blue of his Sharingan. The gentle mist darkened and ceased its swirling, shooting out and wrapping its almost black tendrils around the necks of Danzo and his men. Kakashi's face became cold and hard, his eyes narrowed and focused on the man that was responsible for all this trouble. He released his grip on his lover and stalked over towards the other man. The darken cords tightened around the ROOT guards' throats, lifting them up until they were on the tips of their toes, frantically scratching at their own skin in a futile effort to catch a breath. Danzo was dragged across the ground by the mist to meet Kakashi halfway, gasping in desperation.

Kakashi leaned down until he was nose to nose with Danzo. His furious gaze narrowed, the tomoes in his eyes twirling madly. "Know this asshole," He spoke in a tight, low voice, "the only person who is going to die here is _you_." Kakashi took in the sight of fear spreading across the old man's face. The Copy Nin slowly pulled away, a cold smile spreading across his features. The sound of the ROOT shinobi's bodies hitting the ground one by one caused Danzo's increasingly frightened gaze to frantically shoot from side to side, but the dark mist just tightened further to hold him in place. Gurgles were all that could escape his constricted throat. Kakashi continued, "The only question is _when_ you will die. I will not kill you now, but watch every shadow, jump at every sound, because the moment you relax, the very moment that you feel safe, _I will be there to slit your throat_."

Kakashi turned away from the pitiful sight of Danzo falling to his knees, stopping only to throw one more comment over his shoulder, "That's a promise." He walked towards Sakura, reaching an arm out to wrap around her waist, but she held up a hand to stop him. Surprised, Kakashi watched as she took several firm steps past him, flanked by Naruto and Sasuke, until she stopped right in front of the gasping Danzo. She said nothing at all to him, just reached up and untied the forehead protector from around her head and shook out her pink locks. Grasping the metal plate in her delicate fingers, she extended the symbol of her allegiance to the Leaf out in front of his face and slowly squeezed, crushing the metal like paper with her chakra-enhanced strength. Sakura then just opened her fingers, releasing the destroyed forehead protector to fall down to the ground where it bounced a few times, making a soulful ping every time it hit the hard-packed earth. Naruto and Sasuke stepped forward, letting go of the ones they held and those too hit the dirt.

The three shinobi, having made their symbolic statement, turned their backs on Danzo and walked forward, towards Kakashi, the gate leading out of Konoha, and their uncertain future. Sakura puts her arms around her lover and smiled up at him, her choices made. There was nothing but love and trust in her heart and it shown in her green eyes like sparkling stars.

"You know if you leave with me, you won't have that cozy little apartment anymore. It might be a little while before I can give you a home. I mean, I'll give you all my love, but I can't give you a bathtub. Are you sure you want that?" Kakashi couldn't resist teasing her a little.

Sakura chuckled and squeezed him a little tighter, "I love you, Kakashi. I am home as long as we are together. Now, let's get out of here."

"You know you will have to make an honest man out of me. I can't be camping in sin, that wouldn't be right." With Sakura's laughter ringing out, the two lovers walked out of the gates of Konoha, neither one looking back. All of the shinobi that had been standing in silence followed them out into the dark of the forest.

Danzo's vision had begun to blur as he struggled for air, but he kept his furious glare fixed on the lovers, until the first ANBU landed in front of him, blocking his view. The dark shinobi reached up and removed his mask. He looked at for just a moment, the mark of his accomplishments as a ninja, before dropping it on the ground in front of dying ROOT leader. Without a word, the shinobi turned and joined the exodus of people leaving the village. Many more ANBU jumped down from their perches along the rooftops and joined their comrade, dumping their masks into a rapidly increasing pile on the ground. As Danzo finally lost consciousness, his ears rang with the sound of more and more porcelain disguises landing around him as he hit the ground.

It was a little unclear how much time had passed when Danzo awoke, face first in the dirt. He pushed himself up from the ground and shakily got to feet. The only sound to greet him was the whistling of the wind through the buildings and empty streets of his village. There wasn't a soul in sight, except for the six dead ROOT shinobi scattered in a circle around him. He used the back of his trembling hand to wipe the dirt in his mouth and couldn't help but remember Tsunade's prophetic words from before. His dreams had, quite literally, turned to dust in his mouth. Fury welled up in him and exploded out in a scream of rage that joined the wind echoing through the deserted village. Oh, this wasn't over, he promised himself. Revenge would be his, in the end. This he swore.

The End…?

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 _AN: A huge thank you to all the people that read, followed, favorited, and reviewed. You have no idea how much it meant to me. Don't worry, this story is not truly over yet. The sequel will start going up in a few weeks. It will be titled '_ _ **Rise of the Shadow Leaf**_ _' and I hope everyone will watch for it. There is a lot more meat to that story and it is already in the works. I'm just putting out a short story that I have been working on first before I start posting part two to this one. (As a matter of fact, that short story is the reason for that last month long gap between chapters. Sorry) Again, thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoyed the story. Until next time._


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